The end of the Wild and Wolves’ playoff runs last week exposed complex changes in the local sports broadcast environment. Fan Duel Sports North (FDSN), the regional sports network that carried Twins, Loons, Wolves, Wild, and Lynx games for years under various brands (Fox Sports, Bally’s, etc.), ceased operations across a dozen or so markets, unable to make it financially in the cord-cutting era despite a recent bankruptcy reorg.  

Additionally, key Wolves playoff games were broadcast on streaming services Peacock and Prime, marking the first time in anyone’s memory cable subscribers could not access playoff games. But it’s just the beginning. The Lynx have moved local broadcasts to streaming service Victory Plus—which airs a handful of teams across the country—while the homeless Wild and Wolves seek solutions for next season, with broadcasts beginning in October.  

Wolves officials told TCB that the team is exploring options in and outside the streaming universe. The NBA has mandated that whatever teams negotiate, they leave a contractual “out” after next season, when the league hopes to debut its own broadcast platform.  

The primary alternative to streaming-only is creating a proprietary channel, as the Twins did in 2025 (the Twins were the first local team to leave FDSN as it collapsed). It took the ballclub months to negotiate carriage agreements with cable systems, and now, in year two, the implementation remains imperfect (see below).  

Whatever the outcome, it will be costly for teams, which no longer have multi-year RSN contracts with guaranteed payments based on the size of the local cable market. They instead must now eat what they kill—which includes hiring staff, producing their own broadcasts, and selling advertising on them. Many teams doing so are earning roughly half the revenue the RSNs were paying.  

Just a couple years ago, watching sports was simple. Most games aired on cable and over-the-air. But cord-cutting brought a demand for streaming, which begat streaming-only channels, which began to acquire exclusive rights to national and local games. It took root a couple years ago, when Major League Soccer moved most of its games to AppleTV+.  

So having an expensive all-in cable or satellite package was not enough and left fans watching Prime or Peacock over Russian Reddit streams. The mess peaked this spring, as Timberwolves playoff games disappeared into the streamers’ maw.  

Previously, the solution was a trip to the sports bar, but these days, sports bars are uniquely disadvantaged. TCB called one local joint that would not want to be named to see if it had a Wolves playoff game airing on Prime. The answer: “If we have a bartender with a password on shift.” Based on conversations with bar/restaurant operators this spring, this is how most local spots are presenting streamed games.  

Problem is, it’s less than kosher. But this is the new reality in the sports bar niche—if you want the sports part. “We didn’t have the first Thursday night Prime [NFL] game, and we got heat from customers,” recalls Spencer Jones, managing partner of Dexter’s in Minneapolis.  

When a business airs TV programming for customers, it’s considered a “commercial performance,” and it needs to pay for commercial (not residential) programming packages. But Comcast/Xfinity, which provides cable to local bars and restaurants, doesn’t yet have a streaming solution for them.  

Comcast bars like Dexter’s have had to purchase add-ons like Everpass, which provides Peacock, Prime, and other streaming networks. Dexter’s pays $11,000 annually for it, says Jones, adding, “$11,000 is a lot for us.”  

The Rabbit Hole in the North Loop chose DirecTV because it offers streamers on its channel lineup for commercial accounts. “It was hard to find info about what you can legally air and not air,” notes co-owner Jay Ettinger. “We were scared of a fine.” Just as the music industry performs spot checks on restaurants over rights and royalties, the assumption is Amazon will eventually be checking too. Right now, the only major sport that does not exclusively stream at least some national and playoff games is the NHL.  

Several bar owners complained to TCB that they pay for Twins.TV but cannot get games to air on their Xfinity systems despite hours on the phone with Comcast troubleshooting.  

Sports bars are nonetheless back in vogue despite these troubles. Brett Johnson, co-owner of Nolo’s in the North Loop, is opening General Sports Bar at 50th and France in August. “We’re going to spend what it takes to have all the games,” he says. He’s researching what that entails now.