I was reading a Patrick Reusse column the other day about Dave St. Peter, the Twins’ president and CEO who recently announced he is stepping down from those duties.
I was about two-thirds into it when a graf about the uncertain status of the Twins stopped me cold. It had to with TV revenue, noting that the Twins were two years removed from earning more than $50 million from their regional sports network (Bally) arrangement, and now were “unlikely to reach $10 million in revenue in 2025,” Reusse writes. That’s in reference to the new deal announced by Major League Baseball, in which the league will produce and stream Twins games at a subscriber cost of about $20 per month or $100 a year.
About $10 million in annual revenue works out to about 500,000 customers paying $20 per month for Twins games, which strikes me as seriously low and a serious problem for a baseball team trying to remain relevant. It also raises the question: What the hell is going on?
I say that because MLB Trade Rumors reported in October that the regional sports networks in Cleveland and the Twin Cities each reached about a million homes. Under the streaming plan, the league predicts that its reach will grow to 4-5 million homes, but if $10 million in revenue is the prediction/belief, there is either a serious lack of interest in the Twins or subscription-itis is a real thing. I’m leaning toward the latter because, for example, I have so many subscriptions I’m beginning to wonder if I need most of them. And I think there are plenty of others out there who feel the same.
And yet cord-cutting continues to have a big impact on legacy media. Look at what Comcast announced last week: a plan to spinoff (jettison) several networks “in a bid to unshackle its movie studio and theme parks from the waning fortunes of traditional television,” The New York Times reported. Ugh. The internet: a race to the bottom.
Extra innings…
-Infielder Kyle Farmer, who had a decent 2023 season for the Twins and an entirely forgettable one this past season, is gone after agreeing to a free agent deal with the Colorado Rockies.
-Awards season has come and gone and Stephen Vogt, manager of the Cleveland Guardians, was tapped as the Manager of the Year in the American League, according to the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. Incredibly, on the list of managers who received votes, was yours truly: Rocco Baldelli. Rocco received one third-place vote.
-Ex-Twin Brent Rooker also received some interest from writers in the AL MVP vote. Rooker received a total of 40 points, which places him about 10th in the list of players who attracted votes. Rooker had a great season for the Oakland/Sacramento/Las Vegas A’s, slashing .293/.365/.562 with 39 home runs and 112 RBI.