The Minnesota Timberwolves will play their first regular-season Wolves game with DAZN on Friday night, opening a new local broadcast setup that moves the team off traditional television and onto streaming only. Michael Grady and Jim Petersen will be on the call.
That makes Friday night the first live test of a partnership announced today between DAZN and the Minnesota Timberwolves, and it arrives as the team heads into what is possibly the most anticipated season in franchise history. Fans looking for the local broadcast will not find it on cable or over-the-air television; they will have to use DAZN’s app.
The change matters because the local market around the team has shifted fast. Awful Announcing ranked the Timberwolves 28th in local broadcast accessibility, ahead of only two other teams named in that ranking, the Cleveland Cavaliers and Indiana Pacers. By comparison, ten local NBA broadcasts are completely free to watch over the air, and the Atlanta Hawks are available locally with a basic Amazon Prime subscription at $15 per month. Most NBA teams are still available either on cable or over-the-air television in addition to streaming.
That leaves the Timberwolves in a narrower lane than many of their peers, even as the team promotes a more flexible viewing experience. The reality for fans is simpler: the games are there, but only inside one app. For viewers who have grown used to flipping on a regional sports channel or antenna feed, the new setup is a step down in access even if it is a step forward in streaming.
Friday night will show whether that tradeoff lands with fans or just makes the team harder to find. The first game with DAZN is not only the start of a broadcast partnership; it is the first chance to see how many people will follow the Timberwolves when the local TV option is gone.
