MLB to produce, distribute local Twins games in 2025

MINNEAPOLIS -- Major League Baseball and the Twins announced Tuesday that the league will take over production and distribution of the club’s local games via both television and streaming avenues for the 2025 season, a move that will significantly improve accessibility of the club’s product across Twins Territory and beyond.

“Today is a good day,” Twins president and CEO Dave St. Peter said. “It's an exciting day for the organization, but more importantly, for our fans and for our partners. We're going to be joining the Major League Baseball platform in 2025. That will significantly expand the reach of Twins baseball across Twins Territory. It will eliminate all blackouts.”

The news also comes on the heels of the Twins announcing a multi-year extension to their radio distribution partnership with Audacy on Monday, as part of which Twins baseball will continue to be available on 830 WCCO, 102.9 The Wolf and the Audacy app.

Here’s what you need to know:

How can fans now watch games?

In-market: Twins fans in the market area (Minnesota, North Dakota and parts of South Dakota, Iowa and Wisconsin) will have a new, dedicated channel through cable or satellite television packages (the specific channels are TBD) that will primarily be dedicated to live coverage of Twins games, akin to similar arrangements in the three markets -- San Diego, Colorado and Arizona -- that had production and distribution agreements with MLB last season.

For the 2024 season, the cost was $99.99 for a full-season plan or $19.99 per month in those markets. This is separate from the existing out-of-market MLB.TV subscription, which fans can choose to purchase separately or in tandem.

“It will propel us into the future with a direct-to-consumer streaming option that our fans have been desperately asking for,” St. Peter said.

Out-of-market: Out-of-market fans can continue to watch the Twins with normal MLB.TV subscriptions from outside the blackout regions, as has already been the case.

Why choose league distribution?

The Twins had been monitoring organizational and fan response in the Colorado, Arizona and San Diego markets as the early adopters to the MLB model last season, and St. Peter said the Twins were pleased with the way the league has continued to evolve its production and distribution model.

Per the release, the Twins reached approximately 1.08 million households via their regional sports network last season, with that reach projected to expand to 4.4 million homes this season, an increase of 307%.

“We think Major League Baseball has done a really good job in producing those games,” St. Peter said. “The distribution has been there, and frankly, the fan feedback has been really positive. We felt like clarity for our fans was the most important thing that we could bring heading into 2025, realizing the uncertainty that we’ve been dealing with, really, since Opening Day of ‘23.”

How will this impact the talent?

St. Peter indicated that the Twins have “work to do” to line up their talent and production, noting that the organization hopes to find roles for longtime television employees in the club’s new work with the MLB platform.

Broadcasters Cory Provus and Justin Morneau are employed by the Twins -- not by a regional network. The Rockies, D-backs and Padres did not experience significant turnover in their on-air talent lineups as a result of their move to MLB.

“The bittersweet nature of it is we know today's decision creates a lot of uncertainty for people within the Bally Sports North family and it's something the Twins are incredibly sensitive to,” St. Peter said. “There's a lot of women and men that have been involved in the production, the sales, the distribution of Twins baseball for a long, long time. We care about those people.”