Twins exploring options as radio contract with WCCO expires at end of 2024 season

As the Twins consider which direction to take their TV broadcasts next year, once their one-year contract with Diamond Sports Group expires, they will have a similar decision to make with their radio broadcasts.

The Twins’ radio contract with WCCO ends at the end of the 2024 season and they are exploring options with multiple companies, Twins President Dave St. Peter confirmed.

“Radio is still an important part of our business,” St. Peter said Saturday, speaking at the Hyatt Regency Minneapolis at the Society for American Baseball Research’s annual convention. “It’s an important part of the way we showcase our brand. It’s still a revenue-generating part of our business. It’s still destination programming for a lot of fans throughout the upper Midwest. We will not proceed with a radio partnership that doesn’t have some level of definition on where you could find the games, so to speak.”

The Twins have partnered with WCCO, the Audacy-owned company and the team’s original radio partner from 1961 to 2006, since 2018. Previously, they were broadcast on Go 96.3, an FM station owned by team owner Jim Pohlad and his family for five seasons, and the Hubbard-owned ESPN 1500 from 2007 to ’12.

The Timberwolves and Lynx ended their partnership with WCCO last September, teaming with KFAN, which is owned by iHeartRadio. It marked a move away from traditional radio broadcasts because KFAN already had deals with the Vikings, Wild, Gophers football and Gophers basketball that superseded Wolves or Lynx games. The Wolves and Lynx broadcasts were available through apps, with select games on 100.3-FM.

“Streaming is an increasing part of it, a digital play, no question, just like television,” St. Peter said. “The linear side there, baseball is different than basketball and hockey. I’m not including the Timberwolves in this, but a lot of basketball and hockey teams, radio is a loss leader. In baseball, it is a revenue driver.

“We feel like we’ve got really good options to consider,” he added. “We’re hoping to make a decision here over the next couple of months.”

When St. Peter discussed the Twins’ TV priorities for 2025, he reiterated the club is looking to expand its reach with more streaming options. He said the Twins didn’t receive approval from Major League Baseball to sell their streaming rights this year, but “I’d like to believe that will change in 2025.”

“We’ve been unable to stream Twins baseball in this market, but we have to fix that,” St. Peter said. “I can assure you that if you look to 2025, we will be looking to do that with a partner that can help that. The good news is we have options. ... We look to find a way to, yes, monetize it, but to do it in a way that delivers the product to more fans. That is clearly the goal.”

The Twins slashed payroll by more than $30 million last offseason. The Twins received $54.8 million from their TV deal in 2023, and St. Peter said their return to Diamond Sports this year included a reduction in their rights fees.

“We also, frankly, had been operating with payrolls that were not in line with where our revenues have been, television aside,” St. Peter said. “That’s just a reality. I understand that comes with frustration if you’re a fan. We felt strongly at the time that we had a really good team coming back, and an opportunity to not just win our division, but do some damage in the postseason. We’ll see how it plays out.”