The local sports calendar offered a hockey-baseball doubleheader Saturday for fans with access to Fox Sports North.
The Wild played at Colorado in a matchup of two of the hottest teams in the NHL, followed by a Twins spring training game. Judging by incessant frustration being vented on social media, there are lots of folks who had to find something else to do with their time.
Out of curiosity, I asked Twitter followers recently to raise their virtual hand if they had switched from cable to a streaming option and no longer get FSN because of an ongoing stalemate between Sinclair, which owns regional sports networks, and streaming providers.
The reaction came fast and furious, as if I asked people to raise their hand if they want a million bucks deposited into their bank account. Twenty-five affirmatives in the first two minutes. Within hours, 500 yeses and 2,000 more likes.
Multiple people familiar with the situation told me local franchises with FSN ties are looking at viewership losses of between one-quarter and one-third of their audience. That's big, and sobering.
Apparently, I'm one of the few remaining cable dinosaurs who pays the equivalent of Harvard tuition every month to have access to seven channels that I like and 4,000 that I never watch.
Teams in this market have a major problem. They are caught in the middle of a messy situation and undoubtedly are losing fans because, as the saying goes: out of sight, out of mind.
Some of the lost audience might be a product of people finding other outlets for their time and attention during the pandemic, but only a small percentage. The majority went to streaming options that included FSN and then had games taken away.
