Watching local sports on TV is a maze
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Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios
Cable-cutting Minnesota sports fans are learning that watching all their teams requires as many as five different apps and hundreds of dollars in subscriptions.
Why it matters: Streaming promised viewers more choice and freedom from expensive cable bundles. But the disruption also has them navigating constant changes to avoid blackouts.
Catch up quick: For many years you could watch almost all the local teams on Fox Sports North or its successor, FanDuel Sports Network. But the parent company, Main Street Sports Group, collapsed this year, and each team has gone its own way.
State of the TV: Getting access to most Wild, Wolves, Twins, Lynx and Loons games this year would come to a total of at least $420.
- But a diehard fan would also need to supplement those streaming services with access to ESPN and other channels that hold broadcast rights to nationally televised games.
Between the lines: A fan could jump back to Xfinity or DirecTV, but they have their challenges as well.
- Wild games are not airing on those services, and providers are fighting over whether subscribers will need to pay an extra fee to watch the team.
- Meanwhile, fans are struggling with the team's new streaming partner, Prime Video. Even Pioneer Press Wild beat reporter Jess Myers was blocked from watching the games.
The Wolves don't want that same problem, so they held an explainer session with reporters last week to show them how to use their new platform, DAZN, which won't be carried on cable or satellite.
Flashback: The Lynx used Victory+ this season, a free streaming service, but it collapsed with a couple of weeks left in the season, prompting FOX 9 to pick up the last handful of games.
Zoom out: This isn't just an annoyance to fans — it's also taken a bite out of teams' revenues (the Twins previously collected $55 million a year from Fox Sports North; they're likely making a fraction of that now).
Be smart: If you're just a casual fan or you can't afford these prices, the Wild will air 10 games on KSTP and 45TV, and the Wolves will air 15 on KARE 11.
- And Vikings games are always broadcast over the air.