Bally Sports North and Twins officially split

But the Twins aren’t the only local professional sports team that is splitting with Bally’s. It was reported on Wednesday night that both the Timberwolves and Wild will have to find new TV broadcast partners after their 2023-24 seasons, as well.

…at season’s end, the [Minnesota Timberwolves] and [Minnesota Wild] will find themselves in the same predicament as the Minnesota Twins are now: They’ll be free agents looking for a new broadcasting partner.

“Let’s be clear what’s going on here: This is a liquidation of the business,” David Seligman, attorney for Sinclair Inc., which purchased 19 regional sports networks including BSN in 2019. “This is going to be in operation for another year, and then it’s going to be shutting down the business.”

Phil Miller – Star Tribune

Related: Derek Falvey Admits Twins Plan to Cut Payroll Next Season

What’s next for Twins, Wolves and Wild?

The most likely path forward for the Twins next season is that they use the MLB’s resources to create their own temporary (at least for now) broadcast network.

They’d then charge a fee to fans who want to stream games through MLB.TV and local blackout restrictions would no longer exist. The Twins would also charge an unknown amount to cable, satellite and streaming outlets (Fubo, Hulu, Youtube TV, etc) who want to offer the Twins’ new channel on their platform.

Any hopes for the Twins returning to BSN were likely damaged by Sinclair’s declaration Wednesday that 2024 is the networks’ final year.

“The Sinclair folks who originally acquired Diamond, they’re kind of bummed. They’re bummed that this business that they put a billion and a half [dollars] of equity value in is now going to be shut down,” Seligman said. “There are going to be people losing their jobs. Diamond’s business is going to go away.”

Phil Miller – Star Tribune

Related: How to Stream Timberwolves and Wild Games with Bally Sports App Not Working

This business plan should allow the Twins organization to recoup some of the $50+ million that they are used to receiving yearly from their Bally Sports North contract. Unfortunately, they’re only projected to make a fraction of that, after operating and overhead costs, etc.

As for the Timberwolves and Wild, and what to expect with their TV broadcasts next season… your guess is as good as mine. But they have some time to figure it out. At least for the rest of this season, they are both safe.

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

The sports streaming world has been melting down for the last couple days, after one of the last streaming providers who still offers the YES Network and FOX Regional Sports Networks, announced they would drop local sports coverage offered by Sinclair (owner of FOX Networks).

Last night, in much more discreet fashion, YouTube TV announced that their deal with Sinclair isn’t dead yet… by replying to their original tweet that announced their divorce with the FOX conglomerate in the first place.

While we don’t have plans to lower the cost at this time, we've agreed to a temporary extension! FOX RSNs + YES Network will still be available while we work to reach an agreement. We’ll be sure to share an update as soon as we have more info on a potential resolution/timeline.

— TeamYouTube (@TeamYouTube) February 29, 2020

Hopefully, YouTube TV has realized that their service will die without local sports, since live sports is the only thing still pulling people to TV in timed fashion. Nothing else these days needs to be watched live….

Whether you create a package for sports, that costs a premium price compared to the rest of your service, or you charge more for all of your plans, you need to have local sports channels or your service will die like the rest of them.

We’ll see if the two sides can get a long-term deal done this round. Eventually, Sinclair will pay for all of the stress they have put on the streaming market, over the last year with all of this local sports broadcasting bullshit.

YouTube TV might have taken the hit this time but something in regional sports media needs to change or we will all be paying more for sports channels, than we do our mortgage.

I believe in the free market, though. Someone (CBS, NBC, Disney) will want all the money Sinclair is trying to leave on the table, by overpricing these regional sports networks…. it’s just a matter of time before someone figures it out and FOX is left with “morning after” regret for their transgressions..

Eric Strack | Minnesota Sports Fan