The Twins' TV Cable Channels Are Here

[Peter Labuza]

How and where to watch the Twins, and what we can glean from recent changes in the cable and streaming markets.

Image courtesy of © Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

First off, here’s what you need to know. If you have a cable subscription, here is where you can watch the Twins on TV:

Provider	Channel	More Information
Ace Telephone (AcenTek)	Channel 30
Algona Municipal Utilities	Will not partner due to costs	Announcement
BEVCOMM	HD = channel 36, non-HD = channel 436	Listed on guide
Celect Communications	No Service Provided
Consolidated Telcom	Channel 117	Announcement
Consolidated Telephone Company (CTC)	Channel 32	Announcement
DirecTV	Channel 668 or 668-3	MLB Announcement
DISH	No Service Provided	MLB Channel Finder
Dickey Rural Services	Channel 217
DRN ReadiTech	Channel 217	Announcement
Fubo	Available	MLB Channel Finder
Garden Valley Technologies	Channel 76	Announcement
Gardonville Cooperative Telephone	Channel 37	Announcement
Halstad Telephone Company	Channel 30	Announcement
Hiawatha Broadband	Channel 121
Hulu + Live TV	No Service Provided	MLB Channel Finder
Interstate Telecommunications Company	HD = Channel 185; SD = 42	Announcement
Mediacom	No Service Provided
MidCo (MidConnect Cable)	Channel 638	MLB Announcement
MLGC	Channel 123
Moore and Liberty Telephone	Will Be Availible
North Dakota Telephone Company	Channel 46	Announcement
Northwest Communications Cooperative	Channel 305; (Advanced TV = Channel 23)	Announcement
Park Region	Channel 103	Announcement
Paul Bunyan Television	HD = channel 558, non-HD = channel 58	Announcement
Philo	No Service Provided	MLB Channel Finder
Red River Telephone	Channel 35	Announcement
Reservation Telephone Company	Channel 35 / Channel 335
Rockwell Cooperative Telephone Association	Channel 25 & 30	Announcement
Runestone Telephone	HD = channel 26.1, non-HD = channel 27	Announcement
SCI Broadband	Will Be Availible
Sjoberg's Inc.	Digital Box: 45 or 645 HD, digital TV: 83	Announcement
Sling TV	No Service Provided	MLB Channel Finder
Sparklight	No Service Provided
Spectrum (Minnesota)	Channel 428 or 468	MLB Announcement
Spectrum (Wisconsin)	Channel 319	MLB Announcement
Spring Grove Communication	Channel 30	Announcement
Tremolo Communications	HD = Channel 397; SD = Channel 97	Announcement
Tri-County Communications	No Service Provided
United Telephone Mutual Aid (United and Turtle Mountain Communications)	Channel 71
Venture Communications	Channel 24	Announcement
West Central Telephone Association	HD = Channel 325; non-HD: Channel 25	Announcement
Windomnet	HD = Channel 421; non HD= 60	Announcement
Wikstrom Telephone Company	Channel 646
Xfinity / Comcast	Channel 1261	MLB Announcement
YouTube TV	No Service Provided	MLB Channel Finder

 

If you do not see your provider, check your zip code via the MLB Channel Finder.

As previously reported, the channel will be empty for most hours of the day and “turn on” before the game (30 minutes before home games, but only a few minutes before the start of road games). 

Some cable providers will only be giving access to the channel to those who pony up for “elite” or “premier” service, as had been part of the central debate in last year’s Diamond Sports/Comcast debacle. For example, the North Dakota-based Consolidated Television will only offer Twins.TV on plans that our research suggests are around $60 extra per month.

That these deals took time and are being announced right before Opening Day is pretty much in line with what other markets went through in previous iterations. The Rockies and Diamondbacks announced their deals last year on March 28th. As the team has emphasized, MLB’s own negotiators are likely negotiating these deals.

The expected money from these cable deals is minimal, compared to the lucrative terms of former broadcast deals. They're meant purely as bridges—short-term patches as the team pushes its primary customer base to sign up for their streaming service—but the reality is that the Twins (like other teams) have a long road ahead to complete that conversion. Last year, the Padres saw only 40,000 subscribers on their DTC plan. The league will likely also continue to negotiate local ad sales for those channels to supplement the direct revenue from the carriers. Some reports suggested that teams under MLB's umbrella earned about $15 million from the league, though those details cannot be confirmed. 

As of this week, 26 teams—including those with premium cable packages like the Dodgers and the Mets—offer direct-to-consumer options for in-market consumers. Some of the top markets will require a little more out of pocket. The Dodgers will charge $29.99 a month (and $199.99 for the year—double the Twins' rate) to watch them defend their World Series title. 

This also comes just when the league has officially opted out of its contract with ESPN, which included $550 million a year for Sunday Night Baseball, the All-Star Game, and various playoff games—a portion of which, as is the case with all national broadcast revenue, went to the Twins. Behind the scenes, there's some optimism that the two sides will reunite on a renegotiated deal and that the network will still be a league partner come 2026, but that's far from certain. At every level, there's upheaval ahead for the league and its member clubs where TV money is concerned.

Rob Manfred continues to discuss a “master plan” that would bundle up the streaming rights to all 30 teams and facilitate a nationalized approach to broadcast rights similar to the what Adam Silver has done with the NBA. However, some teams (most notably, the Dodgers) are under traditional RSN contracts for another 10 years. Others might not be easy to sell on the collectivized mode; Yankees owner Hal Steinbrenner has stated his preference that any league-wide plan be purely "optional," which is the sanitized way of saying that he'll do everything in his power to thwart it. But by the time those contracts are up, teaming up with Manfred might be the only way forward.

While most urban and suburban residents may be eager to cut the cord and find all their sports via streaming options, it is important to remember that there are still over 68 million Americans who subscribe to cable. For some, this is by choice, but for as many as a third of households, it's essentially by necessity. Wide swaths of Minnesotans, Dakotans, and Iowans in rural areas often rely on cable because broadband has yet to expand into their area. Plans to expand fiber broadband access were part of the Inflation Reduction Act of 2021, under a program called BEAD, which would have included $652 million in federal funds to cover almost 200,000 households in rural Minnesota:

These plans had been slow to roll out amid careful examination of broadband options and feasibility across the entire United States. However, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick paused BEAD funding due to its “woke mandates.” According to BEAD director Evan Feinman, while the program included some political messaging, those messages were “never central to the mission of the program, nor were they significant in the actual conduct of the program.” However, Feinman (whose contract was not renewed this week) suggested to staff that the program will likely see major delays under Lutnick's plans. 

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported that Lutnick's department is considering revisions to the program that would transfer around $20 billion of the BEAD funds to Starlink, a satellite-based internet company founded by Elon Musk, As some experts have noted, Starlink satellites have a five-year service life, after which they are programmed to crash to Earth. By contrast, fiber cables could last decades and include future-proofing for any higher speeds necessary down the road. At any rate, these changes to the program mean that it will be quite a while before teams or the league can rely primarily on DTC streaming, since they can ill afford to alienate suburban and exurban fans whose cable subscriptions are quasi-required utilities and will balk at added costs.

This debate over internet access may seem tangential, but it remains critical for both the Twins and broader MLB's future. The Twins need to deliver their product to as many consumers as possible, and many of those consumers will be unwilling to switch to a standalone streaming product until they can access the internet at the required speeds. It's far from an ideal solution, for all involved, but it's something.

Please watch out for falling satellites, and enjoy Twins.TV!

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[Hubie29]

What about DISH TV?

[C-Gangster]

Any word on fubo?

[CRF]

I just bought a couple VSee V5 Pro android tv boxes, and ditched cable. I get a whole bunch of MLB channels. Hopefully, the Twins will be on one of those. I honestly have no idea yet. I've been watching just about every ST game so far. It's going to be interesting. 

[jharaldson]

It is estimated that the Twins were on over 1 million households with cable last year.  Sjoberg’s is 8,251, Paul Bunyan Television is 15,926, and Consolidated Telcom is 12,506 households for a total of 36,683 households or 3.6% of total households.  While this is a nice start they need to announce Comcast or DirectTV before any significant amount is taken out.

[CRF]

12 minutes ago, jharaldson said:

It is estimated that the Twins were on over 1 million households with cable last year.  Sjoberg’s is 8,251, Paul Bunyan Television is 15,926, and Consolidated Telcom is 12,506 households for a total of 36,683 households or 3.6% of total households.  While this is a nice start they need to announce Comcast or DirectTV before any significant amount is taken out.

Xfinity and Spectrum too.

[Parfigliano]

2 hours ago, jharaldson said:

It is estimated that the Twins were on over 1 million households with cable last year.  Sjoberg’s is 8,251, Paul Bunyan Television is 15,926, and Consolidated Telcom is 12,506 households for a total of 36,683 households or 3.6% of total households.  While this is a nice start they need to announce Comcast or DirectTV before any significant amount is taken out.

With those numbers there will be many games where paid attendance is much higher then the number watching at home.

[rdehring]

3 hours ago, jharaldson said:

It is estimated that the Twins were on over 1 million households with cable last year.  Sjoberg’s is 8,251, Paul Bunyan Television is 15,926, and Consolidated Telcom is 12,506 households for a total of 36,683 households or 3.6% of total households.  While this is a nice start they need to announce Comcast or DirectTV before any significant amount is taken out.

You are comparing apples with oranges.  Yes, the Twins were on 1M households last year.  But they were only available on those 1M.  This year they are available on every tv in a household with internet, via Twins.tv.  Expect that number is several million compared with one million last year.  Yes, you have to pay extra for it.  But didn't you have to pay extra to have the cable/streaming sites it was available last year?

The big difference is that anyone in the metro or even outstate who wants the Twins this year can have them.  That's assuming they have internet in their home.  It's just gonna cost an extra $100.  Expect some are like me and still waiting to hear if Directv will have them.  If not, will be signing up for Twins.tv on Thursday morning.

[twinstalker]

6 hours ago, C-Gangster said:

Any word on fubo?

Fubo is partially owned by Comcast.  I think they're in tandem.

[dxpavelka]

I've been consuming the product through my cable company for decades at only the cost I pay for the channels I already subscribe to from them.  I misses half a season last year.  If you tell me my cost is going to go up, I learned last summer that I don't need the product enough to pay more.  Sorry.

[brycenation]

The chart has grown today but it looks like a lot of independent outfits with a smaller reach. Thanks to Lubuza for updating. As it grows things are looking more promising to believe statements made by Provous and St Peter that it would be likely cable systems who had Twins before would have them again. In Aberdeen we have Midco who is 49% owned by Comcast so  they will follow the Comcast route. Northern Valley is our other player who has a good share of the city and a lot of smaller towns along with rural areas in NE part of state. Waiting patiently. Fingers crossed, Go NVC - seal the deal!

 

[Diane]

22 hours ago, CRF said:

I just bought a couple VSee V5 Pro android tv boxes, and ditched cable. I get a whole bunch of MLB channels. Hopefully, the Twins will be on one of those. I honestly have no idea yet. I've been watching just about every ST game so far. It's going to be interesting. 

Please let us know if you get the regular games that way.  We had to resort to the paid streaming option, but this sounds easy if it works.

[Linus]

The chart states that Twins TV will be on Direct TV channel 668.  I checked and that is Fan Duel.  Is the information correct or am I not understanding something?

[David Maro]

Spoke to family members about having to put out $100.00 for the games and they said not interested. It's time to say enough is enough when it comes to having to pay for another channel. It is starting to look like everyone is going to have a dozen or more apps to pay for watch anything. To think this team will have millions buy in is dreaming.

[DJL44]

17 minutes ago, David Maro said:

Spoke to family members about having to put out $100.00 for the games and they said not interested.

I believe password sharing will be common.

[TwinsDr2021]

45 minutes ago, Diane said:

Please let us know if you get the regular games that way.  We had to resort to the paid streaming option, but this sounds easy if it works.

With this you get every televised sporting event, and if the Twins are playing the Royals for example and the Royals are televising the game you can watch the Royals announcing team or the Twins announcing team.

[The Great Hambino]

6 hours ago, Linus said:

The chart states that Twins TV will be on Direct TV channel 668.  I checked and that is Fan Duel.  Is the information correct or am I not understanding something?

The announcement in the chart says 668-3 will go live with the pregame shows, sort of like how when a game airing on FanDuel/Bally's/Fox Sports North Plus would show up on 668-1 or 668-2.  The channel is active just for live events

[Peter Labuza]

6 hours ago, Linus said:

The chart states that Twins TV will be on Direct TV channel 668.  I checked and that is Fan Duel.  Is the information correct or am I not understanding something?

Hi Linus — in this research, I've learned that MLB is basically asking a lot of channels to push FanDuel to another channel and make the Twins TV channel what FanDuel was. I guess theoretically the idea is to keep continuity. My guess is that's what DirecTV has agreed to.

[Linus]

24 minutes ago, Peter Labuza said:

Hi Linus — in this research, I've learned that MLB is basically asking a lot of channels to push FanDuel to another channel and make the Twins TV channel what FanDuel was. I guess theoretically the idea is to keep continuity. My guess is that's what DirecTV has agreed to.

Thanks!

[Hubie29]

Does anyone have DISH? Has anything been said about games on DISH?

[Peter Labuza]

1 hour ago, Hubie29 said:

Does anyone have DISH? Has anything been said about games on DISH?

No info on DISH, but Rockies, Padres, and Diamondbacks (the three teams partnered with MLB last year) did not appear on the carrier last year.

[TheLeviathan]

11 hours ago, David Maro said:

Spoke to family members about having to put out $100.00 for the games and they said not interested. It's time to say enough is enough when it comes to having to pay for another channel. It is starting to look like everyone is going to have a dozen or more apps to pay for watch anything. To think this team will have millions buy in is dreaming.

As I've said many times: for a great many Twins fans they will rejoice at the price, be happy for the certainty, and pony up.  I'm genuinely glad they are getting something they want at a price they are ok with.

But for another, very large, group of fans.....that sticker price won't be worth their time.  They'll sail the seven seas, turn on the radio, or just plain tune out.

There really needs to be a long term plan.

[howeda7]

7 hours ago, Peter Labuza said:

Hi Linus — in this research, I've learned that MLB is basically asking a lot of channels to push FanDuel to another channel and make the Twins TV channel what FanDuel was. I guess theoretically the idea is to keep continuity. My guess is that's what DirecTV has agreed to.

As of now, 668 is still FanDuel 668-1 and 668-2 just say "to be announced" and 668-3 doesn't exist. It's clear as mud. 

[brycenation]

I guess when we mean 11th hour we mean 11th hour.....no additions to the list accept a company saying they aren't doing it

[DJL44]

The Saints are broadcasting 26 games over the air

Saints To Televise 26 Home Games On CW Network, All 150 Games Can Be Heard On KFAN Plus, 96.7 FM | Saints

The Saints schedule on CW is as follows:
Sunday, March 30, 2:07 p.m. vs. Indianapolis Indians (Pittsburgh Pirates)
Sunday, April 13, 2:07 p.m. vs. Omaha Storm Chasers (Kansas City Royals)
Tuesday, April 22, 11:07 a.m. vs. Indianapolis Indians
Sunday, April 27, 2:07 p.m. vs. Indianapolis Indians
Wednesday, May 6, 6:37 p.m. vs. Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue Jays)
Saturday, May 10, 2:07 p.m. vs. Buffalo Bisons
Sunday, May 11, 2:07 p.m. vs. Buffalo Bisons
Tuesday, May 20, 11:07 a.m. vs. Norfolk Tides (Baltimore Orioles)
Friday, May 23, 6:37 p.m. vs. Norfolk Tides
Thursday, June 5, 7:07 p.m. vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (NY Yankees)
Saturday, June 7, 6:37 p.m. vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Sunday, June 8, 2:07 p.m. vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders
Wednesday, June 18, 7:07 p.m. vs. Toledo Mud Hens (Detroit Tigers)
Saturday, June 21, 6:37 p.m. vs. Toledo Mud Hens
Sunday, June 22, 2:07 p.m. vs. Toledo Mud Hens
Wednesday, June 25, 1:07 p.m. vs. Louisville Bats (Cincinnati Reds)
Thursday, July 10, 7:07 p.m. vs. Iowa Cubs (Chicago Cubs)
Sunday, July 13, 2:07 p.m. vs. Iowa Cubs
Wednesday, July 23, 1:07 p.m. vs. Worcester Red Sox (Boston Red Sox)
Sunday, July 27, 2:07 p.m. vs. Worcester Red Sox
Wednesday, August 6, 1:07 p.m. vs. Iowa Cubs
Saturday, August 9, 6:37 p.m. vs. Iowa Cubs
Sunday, August 10, 2:07 p.m. vs. Iowa Cubs
Saturday, August 23, 6:37 p.m. vs. Round Rock Express (Texas Rangers)
Sunday, August 24, 2:07 p.m. vs. Round Rock Express
Sunday, September 14, 2:07 p.m. vs. Columbus Clippers (Cleveland Guardians)

[DJL44]

Quote

For the first time, the Saints will extend beyond the Twin Cities Metro courtesy of Gray Media with all 75 home games broadcast in Mankato on KEYC, 10 games in Rochester on KTTC, and 10 games in Duluth on KBJR.

 

[KirbyHawk75]

Any word on Youtubetv?

[Peter Labuza]

5 minutes ago, KirbyHawk75 said:

Any word on Youtubetv?

MLB is saying to "Call YouTube and demand they add it," which seems like a losing battle. Likely they balked at the costs.

[Hubie29]

Very disappointed in this whole process. They made it sound so promising. Crickets from DISH TV.

[lecroy24fan]

DISH is pretty much dropping sports channels anyways. 

 

Twins.TV to be on 1261 on Comcast/Xfinity.

 

https://www.si.com/mlb/twins/minnesota-twins-news/24-hours-to-opening-day-and-twins-tv-plans-still-coming-into-focus-01jqa32k6vtg#:~:text=For Comcast%2FXfinity subscribers%2C Twins,be available on channel 1261.