NEW YORK – Twins games will return to Comcast’s cable systems on Thursday, Bally Sports North’s parent company announced on Monday, after Comcast and Diamond Sports Group reached an agreement on a new contract.
Twins games and Bally Sports North programming will return to Comcast later this week
There is a catch: BSN will be on an enhanced tier of sports packages, meaning a higher fee.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
July 29, 2024 at 10:55PM
There is a catch, however: BSN will now be a part of Comcast Xfinity’s “Ultimate TV” package, and no longer be available on the basic “Popular TV” package. The higher tier, which already includes such sports channels as the NFL Network and MLB Network, costs $20 more per month, though Comcast plans to offer three months free for subscribers who upgrade.
BSN’s programming, including Twins games and many Lynx games, has been blacked out on Xfinity and Midco cable systems since May 1, meaning a significant portion of baseball fans have been unable to watch more than half of the team’s games this season. It wasn’t just a Twins problem — the three-month blackout also faced subscribers of the other 14 Bally regional sports networks around the country.
The agreement does not include a standalone, direct-to-consumer streaming option, though it will restore the ability of Comcast Xfinity subscribers to steam games on the Comcast app.
“We thank Twins fans for their patience” as the two companies haggled over a new contract, Twins spokesman Dustin Morse said. “We look forward to the shared excitement of our postseason push these next two months.”
Diamond earlier this year reached long term deals for its networks to be carried on Charter Communications, DirecTV, Cox Communications and Fubo, and now have all of their biggest distributors under contract. It remains to be seen whether the company will be forced to allow those other carriers to place Bally networks on a higher tier, allowing customers who do not wish to receive the networks to avoid paying for them.
The agreement, part of Diamond’s yearlong effort to survive last summer’s bankruptcy, clears the way for the Bally networks to negotiate new contracts with NBA and NHL teams. The Twins’ contract with BSN expires in October, and it’s unclear whether the team will sign a new contract for 2025 and beyond.
Major League Baseball has offered to produce telecasts for any of its teams that choose not to stay in business with Diamond Sports Group, as it is doing this season for the Arizona Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres.
The eight Twins headed for arbitration are Royce Lewis, Joe Ryan, Jhoan Duran, Bailey Ober, Ryan Jeffers, Willi Castro, Griffin Jax and Trevor Larnach.
