Twins' Joe Pohlad, Dave St. Peter hope to have TV deal 'resolution' soon

Twins opener 2024 regular season March 28.

Will Minnesota Twins games remain on Bally Sports North in 2024? Will games also be streamed on Prime Video? Those questions could have answers in the near future, according to team executives who spoke to fans at TwinsFest on Saturday. 

"It is uncertain right now. I'm confident that very soon we'll be able to, we'll have resolution on that," Joe Pohald, executive chair of the Twins, said on WCCO Radio. "But what I know is that we are working hard with the league to come to a resolution that will hopefully extend the reach beyond what we had last year. But it certainly does impact the financials of the team, both in the short and the long term."

Earlier this month Amazon invested in Diamond Sports Group, which operates the Bally Sports Regional Network and has been in bankruptcy court since last March, in a move that will allow customers to be able to watch their teams on Prime Video. The agreement is believed to also permit viewing access on cable and satellite providers. 

What's unclear is how pricing and availability on Prime Video will work. And there is more uncertainty with the Twins because their deal with Diamond Sports Group ended after the 2023 season. 

Diamond operates 18 networks under the Bally Sports banner and they broadcast games for 11 MLB teams, 15 NBA teams and 11 NHL teams, including the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Minnesota Wild. 

Twins President and CEO Dave St. Peter said the situation is evolving rapidly. 

"The content we have is incredibly valuable and where that content is ultimately aggregated and distributed is really what is evolving and changing very, very rapidly. But I'm very bullish, I'm excited about the future," St. Peter said. 

"I think it can be a driver in our sport, not just of expanding the growth of our sport but ultimately maybe even around bringing all teams together in some type of a platform that can really be a conduit towards some form of long term economic reform in our game. 

"In the short term, the uncertainty is there. We acknowledge it, we share it, we appreciate it. We're incented to resolve it and I'm optimistic that we're going to get there over the next couple weeks. You're dealing with a lot of things that are in our control but maybe more things that are out of our control, mainly this thing called bankruptcy court, which I've learned a lot about."

The Twins pitchers and catchers report to spring training on Feb. 14 and position players report Feb. 18. The 2024 Twins regular season opener is March 28 in Kansas City. 

Aug 19, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Twins starting pitcher Pablo Lopez (49) looks on in the ninth inning against the Pittsburgh Pirates at Target Field / Credit: Matt Blewett-USA TODAY Sports