YouTube TV on Thursday announced that it is dropping all 21 regional sports networks owned by Sinclair — including Fox Sports North — on Saturday because of an impasse over contractual terms.
The streaming service, which has more than 2 million subscribers, said via Twitter: "We do not take this decision lightly. This is a reflection of the rising cost of sports content. You may have noticed several other TV services have also decided to remove FOX Regional Sports Networks from their lineups."
Subscribers vented on Twitter almost immediately, with those affected across markets basically saying they will cancel their subscriptions.
If that sounds familiar it's because a similar story played out last year when both Sling TV (another streaming service) and Dish Network (a larger satellite provider) both dropped the RSNs from their menu of offerings — angering plenty of Minnesota sports fans who no longer had access to Twins, Wild, Wolves and other games.
Michael Rand
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• The Gophers baseball team will host the six-team CambriaCollegeClassic this weekend at U.S. Bank Stadium. In its three games, Minnesota (4-4) will play North Carolina at 7 p.m. Friday, No. 14 Duke at 7 p.m. Saturday and No. 13 North Carolina State at 6 p.m. Sunday. Scheduled starters for the Gophers are Max Meyer, J.P. Massey and Drake Davis in that order.
• Justin Kelley scored twice as St. Thomas edged Gustavus 3-2 in the MIAC men's hockey quarterfinals.
• Delaney Wolf and Anya Hafiz scored goals in the first periods to lead St. Mary's to a 4-1 win over St. Thomas in the MIAC women's hockey quarterfinals. The postseason win was the Cardinals' first since 2005.
