Bally Sports, renamed to FanDuel Sports Network, is no longer a Twins’ problem. Twins.TV ushers in a new era of viewing experience for MN Twins fans. Details of the new service have trickled out sparsely since being announced a few months ago. On February 11, though, the opportunity for local market fans to purchase Twins.TV goes live.

Minnesota Twins streaming package is available for purchase

On February 13, Minnesota Twins pitchers and catchers report for Spring Training. Then on the 22nd, the team kicks off their Spring Training schedule against the Atlanta Braves. Starting tomorrow morning, however, fans can sign up early and receive half-off tickets, reports The Athletic’s Dan Hayes.

“The team is offering blackout-free baseball on Twins.TV to viewers throughout the five states comprising Twins Territory — Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and western Wisconsin — at $99.99 for the season or $19.99 per month, with discounts offered to season-ticket holders. Subscribers who purchase a direct-to-consumer package before April 1 also will receive an offer for 50 percent off tickets for April and May home games.”

Dan Hayes on Twins.TV (The Athletic)

The pricing structure was unveiled earlier this offseason. This Twins.TV package is an in-market option for fans throughout Twins Territory, and operates separately from the nationwide MLB.tv bundle. Eligibility requirements can be found through a FAQ produced by the Twins.

If you are a cable subscriber, a channel will be available to carry Minnesota Twins action. The organization kept the entirety of the broadcast team intact. That allows for bookending game content. The channel details there are not yet certain.

This never gets old…. especially with a packed house 🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/AQMJk50KTn

— Audra Martin (@Audra_Martin) June 15, 2024

Unfortunately, with no true studio outside of Target Field, road games will no longer have pregame shows. That could lead to significant information dumps by either the analysts or on-field reporter Audra Martin, prior to first pitch. Road postgame shows are also now just 15 minutes.

Related: Twins Release Spring Training Non-Roster Invite List

As an additional expansion of coverage, it sounds as though something like 15-20 games this season can be expected to show on local channels as well.

Broadcast enhancements coming for MN Twins

In a recent appearance over Twins Fest weekend, analyst Cory Provus talked of new broadcast enhancements coming to the production of games. He mentioned two specific camera angles that now have a bit more definition. Both wide-angle and intimate play-specific cameras will be introduced.

“It’s really going to bring fans literally closer to the game,” Twins.TV executive producer. With a (remote) camera, you’re going to be field level at certain parts of the game. And with the wire cam, we’re going to be able to show you more than you’ve been able to see before… We do hope that even though it’s technology, it is technology that can really connect the teams and the players with the fans.”

“There’s funky angles, every stadium’s different and it’s really hard to capture certain parts of the game,” Fleck said. “This camera gives a wide perspective of a large portion of the field. … You can see much more of what’s going on.”

Trevor Fleck, Twins.TV executive producer (The Athletic)

It sounds as though the additional camera angles will provide fans with a viewing experience unlike anything we have come to know with traditional cable television. Apple TV has been the gold standard when considering in-game production value to this point, and Twins.TV will now attempt to rival that.

Of course the baseball is truly the selling point in and of itself. For diehard fans, the ability to consume 162 games this season is something that escaped many last year. The Minnesota Twins will be hoping the preseason projection systems are accurate and that they can play relevant baseball throughout the summer.

Related: Cory Provus Unveils More Details Behind New Twins TV Broadcasts

Rocco Baldelli has the vast majority of his roster back from a season ago. If they can stay healthy, the MN Twins should be among the better teams in the American league. The first Twins.TV game of the spring will be held on Mach 16th against the Boston Red Sox.

Earlier this year, when Diamond Sports Group — the parent company of Bally Sports — filed for bankruptcy it threw the future of many sports franchise’s television rights into limbo.

One of those teams was the Minnesota Twins and the lack of a major TV partner heading into 2024 meant the organization was expected to lose a huge amount of revenue for next season.

Related: Minnesota Twins Sign Relief Pitcher Josh Staumont

The contract Minnesota had with Bally Sports reportedly put $54 million in the Twins cophers for 2023. Without that money, the organization would be unable to improve on a roster that won the American League Central this season. However, that unfortunate financial situation could change soon.

Minnesota Twins in talks with Bally Sports for 2024 season

Late last week, the Star Tribune reported that Bally Sports North and the Twins have been negotiating over broadcast rights for the 2024 season, keeping their long-standing relationship together for at least one more summer.

Bally Sports’ parent company has a “strong and sincere interest” in renewing their ties for one more season, according to the Strib’s sources. The Twins organization and BSN were negotiating on a deal as recently as last week and rumor has it an offer was made by Bally.

Bally Sports North and Diamond Sports Group have expressed “strong and sincere interest” in renewing their ties for one more year, according to two sources with knowledge of the talks. Discussions took place this past week, though neither source would confirm published reports that the network made a formal offer, nor reveal the funding being proposed.

Phil Miller – Star Tribune

Related: TV Blackouts Will Not Exist in Minnesota Twins New Broadcasting Age

A new deal is far from assured, however. Bally’s offer to the Twins is expected to be substantially lower than the $54 million they were contracted to pay for the same job just one summer ago, due to the dire financial situation of its parent company.

The Minnesota Twins must make a decision soon, with Spring Training only seven weeks away. Fans need to know where they can watch the team next season, and I’m sure the front office would be better suited for the rest of this offseason if ownership can get a firm number on how much payroll they plan to shed from their $154 million total this past season.

Diamond Sports Group has officially filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Sinclair subsidiary says it will "continue broadcasting games and connecting fans with the sports and teams they love."

DSG provides local television broadcasts for nearly half of NBA, NHL and MLB games. pic.twitter.com/1oDS3ap36P

— Front Office Sports (@FOS) March 15, 2023

How Diamond Sports bankruptcy filing affects Timberwolves and Wild broadcasts

We knew it was coming but the filing will have far-reaching implications, nonetheless. Some teams will feel the impact more than others. For Minnesota sports fans in the local viewing area, there will be little change… for now.

NHL and NBA broadcasts that air and stream on Bally Sports’ platforms will continue as usual for the rest of their 2022-23 seasons, the Timberwolves and Wild included. Not all teams in the MLB can say the same. But what about the Twins?

How filing affects Minnesota Twins broadcasts

If you subscribe to Bally Sports North through Directv, cable or FUBO, you will be able to watch or stream Minnesota Twins games this summer, no problem. But that’s not the case for fans who have enjoyed Timberwolves and Wild games through Bally’s new standalone ($19.99/mo) streaming app, Bally Sports Plus.

Here’s why: Major League Baseball has sold streaming rights to Diamond Sports for just 5 of the 14 teams it holds TV rights to. As of now, the Twins are excluded from that list. In a report Tuesday from ESPN, it’s Diamond Sports’ goal to expand its streaming rights into all 14 of those MLB regions, even as their bankruptcy moves forward.

The goal, a source familiar with the situation said, is for the company to acquire streaming rights for all 14 of its major league teams in order to broadcast games both through a linear cable model and on direct-to-consumer platforms. At the moment, Diamond has rights to stream the games to just five teams. It would have to negotiate the other nine with MLB, but MLB has previously been hesitant to sign off on additional rights for a company that has yet to prove itself financially sustainable.

ESPN

Hope on the horizon for local cord-cutting Twins fans?

So if you are hoping to use Bally’s standalone app to watch the Twins this summer, your chances hinge on Diamond Sports’ efforts to gain streaming rights to the Twins ASAP. On the positive side, the Twins are one of the profitable MLB teams that Bally’s currently holds TV rights for.

That means it’s in Diamond Sports’ best interest to get the Twins on Bally Sports Plus sooner, rather than later. I’d expect a heavy push by Diamond to attain streaming rights to Twins games ASAP, They’ll want to get something done before the Wild and Wolves seasons are over.

Otherwise, Bally Sports Plus would be looking at 6 months without any major Minnesota sports games to stream. If that were to happen, subscriptions would drop in droves around the BSN viewing area.

Through the restructuring process, Diamond is widely expected to shed the contracts of its less-profitable teams. Not being able to acquire direct-to-consumer rights, which was part of the reason it entered into a grace period with the D-backs, will factor into which teams it chooses to hold onto.

ESPN

What happens if Bally Sports drops your team?

If Diamond Sports stops broadcasting games for any teams it owns rights to, the MLB has already promised to immediately get those broadcasts back on the air, through the MLB.tv app (free for local viewers).

For some teams — watch out Diamondbacks — that could happen as soon as this season. The Twins are not expected to be one of those teams, however. Diamond Sports has already paid the Twins for their 2023 broadcasting rights and they seem to be optimistic streaming rights will be acquired soon too.

How local viewers watch Minnesota Twins, Wild and Wolves games beyond the 2023 baseball season is completely up in the air. But for now, Bally Sports North is their TV and streaming home. Until the MLB hands streaming rights over to Diamond Sports, local Twins fans must subscribe to Directv, standard cable or FUBO, if they want to watch their team this summer on TV or via stream.

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan