The Minnesota Timberwolves and FSN North today announced a new long-term television rights agreement. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
FSN North will televise 35 Timberwolves games next season (2007-08). Under the new agreement, which begins in 2008-09, the number of telecasts will be bumped to 40 regular-season games as well as two preseason games. Each broadcast will include Wolves Live pre- and post-game shows. In the new agreement, FSN North will continue to televise select Timberwolves first and second-round playoff games. FSN North will also produce a 30-minute Wolves Weekly show, which will air during the 2008-09 NBA season.
Other highlights of the new agreement include greater shared video content between the team and the network as well as a larger marketing and promotional relationship. Additionally, FSN North will continue to telecast six Minnesota Lynx WNBA games each season.
"We are very proud of our continuing partnership with the Minnesota Timberwolves," said FSN North Senior Vice President and General Manager Mike Dimond. "Increasing our coverage of the Timberwolves allows us to honor our commitment in delivering the best possible sports programming to our viewers."
The Timberwolves will return the same broadcast team for its telecasts with Tom Hanneman as the television play-by-play announcer and Jim Petersen as the analyst. The 2007-08 campaign will mark Hanneman's 19th season as part of the Wolves broadcast team, while Petersen returns for his 10th year. FSN North has been the official cable and satellite television partner of the Wolves since 1995.
FSN North reaches more than 3 million homes throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa and North and South Dakota and telecasts nearly 2,600 hours of locally produced programming per year. The Emmy Award-winning regional sports network provides comprehensive coverage of the NBA's Minnesota Timberwolves and Milwaukee Bucks, MLB's Minnesota Twins and Milwaukee Brewers, the NHL's Minnesota Wild, the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, the WNBA's Minnesota Lynx as well as the University of Minnesota and University of Wisconsin athletic events.