Watching every major Minnesota pro team this season could cost about $1,500 a year — and require navigating a patchwork of streaming services, TV channels and subscriptions.
As recently as two years ago, there was a single place to watch the Twins, Lynx, Wild and Timberwolves. Not anymore. Some games are free, others require individual team subscriptions or services such as Apple TV, and prices for the Wolves and Wild are still being determined.
Here’s where to watch each Minnesota team this season, how much it could cost and ways to save.
The regional sports network model has been fraying for years as more households drop cable and satellite TV, shrinking the pool of subscriber fees that long fueled local sports broadcasts.
Main Street Sports, the parent company that ran FanDuel Sports North, emerged from bankruptcy protection in late 2024 but never found its footing. The Twins jumped ship to launch Twins.TV before the 2025 season. And when Main Street Sports shut down in April, the Wild, Wolves and Lynx had to scramble to find new ways to reach local viewers.
The fragmentation and costs are already causing some fans to tune out.
“It takes you half an hour to go through all the possibilities and it’s just frustrating,” said Tim Helm, a 68-year-old Lakeville resident. “It’s gotten to the point where I almost don’t care anymore. I used to be a sports junkie.”
All you need to watch the Vikings, for the most part, is an antenna.
Most Vikings games are available over the air on CBS, Fox or NBC. The schedule also includes a Nov. 9 game against Buffalo on ESPN and a Dec. 10 game against New England on Prime Video, but both will be simulcast on local broadcast TV in the Twin Cities.
Frost games are available on YouTube. The Wolves plan to make 15 games available free through their new deal with the streaming platform DAZN (and possibly also through a local broadcast station), while the Wild expects to have a limited number of free over-the-air games. And the Lynx have all 26 of their locally distributed games free on the Victory+ streaming app.
Carley Knox, Lynx President of Business Operations, said viewership on Victory+ has been “awesome,” and each local game is averaging 30,000-40,000 viewers.
“Our priority this year was accessibility for our fans to continue to fall in love with this team,” she added.
The Twins provide the clearest example of the direct-to-consumer model that many pro teams are inching toward. Twins.TV costs $19.99 a month or $99.99 for the season and provides access to all Twins games aside from exclusive national broadcasts — games on ESPN, Fox, NBC, Peacock or Apple TV. Or, in the case of Thursday’s Field of Dreams game, on Netflix.
Minnesota United is now part of Apple TV’s regular subscription, which costs $12.99 a month or $99.99 for an annual subscription.
The prices for the Wolves’ DAZN product and the Wild’s standalone streaming option have not been announced.
The Wild said its local broadcasts will remain available through cable and satellite providers that carried FanDuel Sports North, but the exact details are still unclear.
Wolves fans who streamed games on the FanDuel app paid $20 per month last season. DAZN charges $35 per month for its all-inclusive service, but a Wolves-specific subscription would be lower, said Zander Berlinski, DAZN’s senior vice president of strategy and business development.
For viewers who want national sports channels and local broadcast stations in one place, live-TV services such as YouTube TV, DirecTV Stream and Hulu + Live TV are becoming increasingly popular options. Their base plans run from about $83 to $95 a month.
But add on the services needed to watch the full slate of Vikings, Twins, Wolves, Wild, Loons and Lynx games, and the cost could run about $1,500 a year.
Here’s how we got there: Standard YouTube TV costs $82.99 a month, or about $996 a year. Add a season of Twins.TV ($99.99), a year of Apple TV for the Loons ($99.99), and six or seven months each of the forthcoming Wolves and Wild streaming packages. We estimated those packages at $20 to $35 a month, based on current and recent prices for comparable services. Under that scenario, a Minnesota sports fan maximizing their TV access would spend about $1,500 a year.
And that’s not factoring in the Gophers, whose games add another layer to the streaming puzzle. Football, men’s basketball and other Big Ten events can air on Fox, CBS, NBC, Big Ten Network, ESPN networks or Peacock, with the mix varying by sport and schedule.
For cord-cutters:
YouTube TV is currently offering one of the better values in live TV streaming services.
Starting at $54.99 a month for the first 12 months (then $64.99 afterward), YouTube TV’s Sports Plan will cover you for Vikings, the bulk of Gophers basketball and football (the package includes Big Ten Network and other conference sports channels), and any broadcasts on ESPN, Fox, CBS, ABC, NBC and the like. Another bonus for going this route is that it includes access to ESPN Unlimited.
You will still need to add Twins.TV, DAZN for the Wolves (price TBD), and a paid streaming option for the Wild (price TBD).
For those sticking with cable:
Xfinity Sports & News TV offers a skinny bundle, starting at $90 a month, that’s relatively cost-effective compared with other cable options.
It comes with a Peacock Premium subscription — which you need for the occasional Twins, Wolves and Lynx game — and also has you covered for BTN and the standard national broadcast channels.
You will still need to add Twins.TV, DAZN and either stream or consider upgrading for local Wild broadcasts.
Some other bundles and add-ons toconsider:
If you’re feeling frustrated or overwhelmed at this point, you’re not the only one.
Team executives are trying to balance streaming’s promise of a more direct pathway to fans with the reality that every new app and subscription can further the frustration.
“It’s hard,” Matthew Caldwell, Timberwolves and Lynx CEO, said last week. “There’s so much transformation going on right now. If there was a one-stop shop option, we’d love to look at it. We know that fans having to access through different platforms can be difficult, but we’re just going to try to make it as easy as possible.”
For viewers, there is some good news: Media consolidation over the next five years will likely make content more accessible and easier to find.
“It will still be expensive,” said Patrick Crakes, a former Fox Sports executive and media consultant. “But you will get much more for your price in a better way, and sports will lead the way in that consolidation.”
The next five years, though, might look ugly.