Will MLB give Twins viewers the in-market streaming they crave in 2025?
While the Twins recent deal with Bally Sports North settles where fans can watch their team in 2024, the long-term vision is still a big question. However, some level of clarity might have been given Thursday by Major League Baseball commissioner Rob Manfred.
Evan Dreilach of The Athletic wrote that, after the owner's meetings ended Thursday, Manfred said a realistic "target date" for an MLB digital package is 2025.
Manfred is referencing a streaming package that would allow fans to watch their team in-market. Currently MLB offers MLB.TV which allows baseball fans to watch games as long as they are not in-market, so, if you live in Minneapolis and want to watch the Yankees, you can as long as they are not playing the Twins.
Jul 11, 2023; Seattle, Washington, USA; MLB commissioner Rob Manfred talks to the media before the 2023 MLB All Star Game at T-Mobile Park.
© Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports
Currently, Twins fans currently have to pay for a cable or streaming TV package that includes Bally Sports North, with the deal struck between Bally owned Diamond Sports Group to keep Twins games on BSN in 2024 not even including the option to watch games on Bally's $20-a-month Bally Sports Plus service.
Related: The Twins strike new TV deal with Bally Sports North: Here's what we know
In order to have the viable package, Manfred is aiming to have, at least, half of the team's digital rights.
“Never mind want or could — I think you need to be in the 14 and growing mode,” Manfred said.
The Twins are only under contract with Bally through the end of 2024, which suggests it could well be one of the teams Manfred and MLB would target to launch its own direct-to-consumer, in-market streaming service.
MLB getting enough teams' rights will depend on the ongoing bankruptcy case surrounding Diamond Sports Group (DSG), and could also be impacted by the involvement of Amazon, which has provided DSG with an investment that could pave the way for a new live sports streaming service to launch on Prime Video.
