It's official. Bally Sports North will continue to be the home of the Minnesota Twins on television. At least through 2024.
Judge Chris Lopez told the Twins, Cleveland Guardians and Texas Rangers that their proposed agreements to stay with Diamond and Bally for 2024 would be "happily" accepted.
"A huge step forward," Lopez said.
Terms of the deal are not available. Lawyers for Diamond explained to the judge that MLB and Diamond want terms of the agreements sealed according to reports from The Athletic.
The Twins who received $54 million last year from Bally/Diamond but other recent agreements between teams and Diamond were significantly less than previous contracts as that company has battled through bankruptcy court.
This also means there is still not standalone streaming option for Twins fans. You'll need to subscribe through your cable or satellite provider in order to stream games in 2024, something fans hoped would be remedied. They'll need to wait.
What happens after this still remains unclear, with these deals only lasting through '24.
"Realistically, my target to having a digital package I can take to market would be for the ’25 season,” Manfred said at the conclusion of an owners meeting outside Orlando this offseason.
And while MLB does offer streaming through it's website and app, those local broadcasts are blacked out and you can only watch out-of-market games.
Diamond announced in January that it had secured $450 million from creditors to fund a reorganization plan that would include an additional $115 million from a new minority investor in Amazon. They were planning to provide direct-to-consumer access to the teams for which Diamond maintains streaming rights.
A ruling on that deal could still come down the road.
There will be new TV and radio crews for Twins broadcasts in 2024 as well. Cory Provus takes over for Dick Bremer on the television side, now on Bally Sports North, while Kris Atteberry steps into the regular role on radio along with Dan Gladden. All radio broadcasts can be heard on 830 WCCO or streaming on the Audacy app (in-market restrictions apply).