The Twins radio deal with Hubbard Broadcasting expires after this season. Team president Dave St. Peter told Sports Headliners the arrangement to have games heard in the metro area on 1500 ESPN has been a “wonderful collaboration” but a new agreement hasn’t been finalized.
“We’ve had multiple discussions,” he said. “There’s nothing to report at this time. I expect definitive word before the end of the season.”
The Twins made history after the 2006 season when they ended a radio partnership with WCCO that dated back to 1961, the franchise’s first season in Minnesota. A marketing source told Sports Headliners he believes WCCO is interested in carrying the games again. He said other stations likely interested are KFAN and KTWN (branded K-Twin), a station owned by the Pohlad family which has also owned the Twins franchise since 1984.
WCCO lost not only the Twins in recent years but also Gophers football and basketball. The station does broadcast Timberwolves games. KFAN specializes in sports programming but already is the local radio home of Vikings, Wild and Gophers football broadcasts. 1500 ESPN, in addition to the Twins, carries Gophers basketball and hockey. KTWN isn’t currently a radio home of Minnesota’s major league teams or the Gophers.
St.Peter declined to speculate about WCCO, KFAN or KTWN. The team’s radio deal with Hubbard is to broadcast games in the metro area, and the club has a separate arrangement with Minnesota News Network to distribute their radio broadcasts on a network of Upper Midwest affiliates. About 135,000 fans might typically be listening to a Twins game on 1500 this season.
The club’s agreement with Hubbard is believed to provide more than $1 million in annual rights fees and allows the Twins to sell the advertising on broadcasts and retain revenues. 1500 has used the Twins broadcasts to build brand awareness and its listening audience as the station has transitioned in recent years from a news-talk format to a sports station that includes affiliation with ESPN Radio.