MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — The Minnesota Timberwolves are moving every game back to terrestrial radio for the 2026–27 season, three years after becoming the first NBA team to launch a dedicated iHeartRadio streaming channel.

Under a multiyear agreement announced September 29, all 82 regular-season games and six preseason games will air on Audacy’s 830 WCCO and stream through the Audacy app. Coverage begins October 5 with a preseason game at Milwaukee.

Alan Horton returns for his 20th season as the team’s play-by-play announcer. Cal Soderquist will host 30-minute pregame and postgame programs, while coach Chris Finch and basketball operations president Matt Lloyd will make weekly appearances with WCCO host Chad Hartman.

The agreement restores WCCO as the team’s flagship after the station carried Timberwolves games from the 2011–12 season through 2022–23.

In 2023, the Timberwolves and iHeartMedia announced what they called a first-of-its-kind NBA arrangement. Every game was available through the Timberwolves and iHeartRadio apps on a dedicated 24-hour channel, while only selected games aired on terrestrial station KFAN.

A hybrid strategy replaces streaming-first distribution

The new deal does not abandon Internet listening: games will remain available digitally through Audacy. The material change is that the entire schedule again receives terrestrial distribution rather than relying primarily on a streaming channel.

For Internet Radio operators, the shift illustrates the continuing value of broad, low-friction local reach for live sports. Streaming expands access beyond a signal’s geographic limits, but an app-only or streaming-first strategy may still need the awareness, habit and promotion supplied by an established local station.

It would be premature to say the Timberwolves’ streaming-first strategy failed. The team, Audacy and iHeartMedia have not released audience comparisons, advertising results, financial terms or an explanation for the end of the previous agreement. Whether reach, revenue, listener demand or contract timing drove the change remains unanswered.

Sources: WCCO/Audacy announcement, September 29, 2026; Timberwolves–iHeartMedia announcement, 2023.