About 10 days after the Twins season ended in mid-October, Cory Provus was presented with an opportunity to succeed Dick Bremer and shift from the radio to TV broadcasts.
"This is something I just really want to do," said Provus, who joined the Twins radio broadcasts in 2012. "I've always thought of myself as being ambitious and challenging myself, and this, to me, is the ultimate challenge. The idea of joining this group in this way, now, I think I would regret not at least trying."
Provus called a handful of games on Bally Sports North, including the Twins' home opener this year after Bremer tested positive for COVID-19. When Provus was weighing whether to accept a role on a new broadcasting medium, he was told the next TV broadcaster will not have local blackouts.
The Twins haven't announced their next TV broadcasting partner after their contract with Diamond Sports Group, Bally Sports North's parent company, expired in October, but streaming will be available in addition to any of their cable, satellite or over-the-air options.
"Come 2024, Twins baseball is going to be more accessible," Provus said. "It's not going to solve every problem. I'm not naive to say it's going to solve every issue, but one big issue has been in this modern era for fans is to see baseball, watch Twins baseball. That, to me, was a huge driving point."
Provus, who plans to call about six games on radio next year, views the Twins' TV future as a blank canvas. He hinted at plans for a players-only broadcast, which Atlanta did for a game last year, featuring Chipper Jones, Greg Maddux and Tom Glavine alongside analyst Jeff Francoeur.
"We're going to be open-minded to having, at times, a different kind of call on the game," said Provus, who will no longer call college football games for Big Ten Network in the fall but will continue as a college basketball broadcaster.
There were some extra emotions, Provus said, when the Twins unveiled him as their lead TV play-by-play voice on Friday. His dad died last November, and when he spoke to reporters, he was wearing his dad's watch.
"This is the first big thing in my life that I can't share with my dad, so that's hitting me pretty hard today," Provus said. "Thinking about him a lot."
Atteberry will move into a lead role on the radio broadcasts alongside Dan Gladden, and he will be the primary radio voice for any postseason games.
"When they told me, I was, I guess, relieved first," Atteberry said. "Then a little overwhelmed. Let's be honest, I've been calling big league games for 17 years not as the lead guy. There is a difference. I've called a billion games in my life. But to be the lead guy, that's what everybody wants. That's what I've wanted to be since I was a 6-year-old kid."
Atteberry joined the Twins radio team in 2007, hosting the pregame and postgame shows while filling in for Provus and John Gordon.
"I'm really excited about the idea that, in essence, the band's still together," Atteberry said. "Cory's a room over standing on his little box doing his shots with Justin [Morneau], but we're all still together. We're traveling together. We have a really good relationship and rhythm and energy between all of us. Danny, Cory and I, we're all very different, but we really get along."
