The Minnesota Timberwolves could be must-see TV next season with the addition of LaMelo Ball and a true superstar in Anthony Edwards. But when it comes to actually flipping them on, their partnership with DAZN has made that as hard as challenging Rudy Gobert at the rim.
The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski relayed DAZN’s prices for its first season as the broadcasting home for the Timberwolves on Thursday, and it could be considered bad news for fans. A monthly subscription to watch the Wolves will cost $19.99 per month or $24.99 for an ultimate tier that includes added benefits such as a 25 percent discount to the Wolves team store. A yearly option is also available to bring the cost down, but it’s still a steep price to pay to flip a game on.
Standard | Ultimate | |
|---|---|---|
Monthly Price | $19.99 | $24.99 |
Season Price | $119.99 | $139.99 |
Device Limit | 2 devices in 1 location | 5 devices in 2 locations |
Team Store Discount | None | 25% off one-time |
With DAZN’s service only available in the Minnesota region and subscriptions to Peacock, Amazon Prime Video, and either traditional cable or a streaming platform like YouTube TV also required to watch some national broadcasts, the Timberwolves, along with the rest of the NBA, are making their games less accessible, which could leave fans out in the cold ahead of their most anticipated seasons in recent history.
Watching the Timberwolves is becoming a luxury for their fans
The NBA’s regional broadcast crisis began a few years ago when Sinclair Broadcast Group bought the FOX Sports regional networks back in 2019. Shortly after, the regional networks were rebranded to Bally Sports Networks as part of a 10-year naming rights partnership, but were pulled from several streaming services, including Dish Network, Sling TV, FuboTV, YouTube TV and Hulu. FuboTV reached a deal to acquire the networks late in 2022, and the channels were moved to a more expensive tier on Comcast after a three-month blackout in the summer of 2024.
While this was happening, Sinclair Broadcast Group filed for bankruptcy and rebranded the channels to FanDuel Sports Network and renamed its entity to Main Street Sports Group. But the change didn’t stop them from losing the rights to teams such as the Timberwolves, leading them to look for an alternative way to distribute games ahead of this season.
Some teams chose to make their games more accessible as the regional crisis was unfolding. The Phoenix Suns ditched cable entirely and made all non-nationally televised regular-season games completely free over the air. The Utah Jazz put all of their non-national games on a paid app but also broadcast them on local TV station KJZZ.
The Dallas Mavericks, Portland Trail Blazers and Chicago Bulls have also followed suit, but while the Timberwolves reached a deal to simulcast 15 regular season games over-the-air for free, there are still 42 regular season games that require buying the subscription, leaving Wolves fans blacked out from watching their favorite team.
Timberwolves fans are the ones paying the price for the NBA’s TV mess
Some of the perks that come with the subscription make up for the price, and Krawczynski noted that season ticket holders get a 20 percent discount on the standard price. But that option isn’t available for fans who live out of the area, who must pay for NBA League Pass while also dodging the local blackout restrictions that are still somehow in place.
Sadly, this is the direction that most leagues and their teams are going as they look to maximize their earnings. The NHL’s Minnesota Wild put out a similar streaming service that will make fans pay to watch them next season, and MLB’s Minnesota Twins have been running Twins.TV for the past two years to make up for their own regional TV crisis.
With key financial decisions to be made, as well as plans for a new arena to replace Target Center, it also makes sense that the Wolves would look for every revenue stream possible to make those plans happen.
Unfortunately, it’s the fans who foot the bill, and if they want to watch the Wolves (or any of their favorite teams) next season, they’ll have to pay the price.
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