Major League Broadcasting Rights: Tradition or Revenue?

In at least two major league cities, storied radio broadcasting traditions have conflicted with the revenue realities of today’s sports world.

Next week, the Minnesota Twins are expected to announce a multi-year agreement to switch their radio rights to KSTP. The move will end a long relationship with WCCO, which has broadcasted every Twins game since they arrived in 1961.

The negotiations and subsequent fallout from WCCO have been ugly. WCCO personalities have openly criticized the Twins on the air – even giving out phone numbers of team executives. And local sports media legend Sid Hartman has used his newspaper column and radio show to urge the team to stay with WCCO. (Go here for fan reactions.)

As this excellent analysis suggests, the decision came down to revenue: the Twins want to take the rights in-house so they can control (and keep) advertising revenue. The team also reportedly sought more than $1 million from the bidders. Only KSTP was willing to meet both demands.

Several WCCO personalities have suggested the Twins didn’t play fair and the station’s loyalty meant nothing to the team (especially following their support of the team’s recent and successful stadium campaign at the state legislature). But as Dan Barreiro points out, WCCO’s parent company is CBS – not exactly a mom-and-pop operation. And CBS chose to step out of the negotiations.

A similar story transpired in St. Louis last year, where the Cardinals ended their 50-year relationship with KMOX in favor of KTRS, a station the team now partially owns. Considering the revenue pressures in professional sports, don’t expect this trend to end anytime soon.