The Twins today are expected to formally announce that the team "will move to FM radio in 2013, leaving KSTP-AM for KTWN," which is owned by Twins Owner the Pohlad family, according to Ben Goessling of the ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS. The Twins will become "just the seventh major league team with an FM flagship radio station." The team has "spent their first 52 seasons on AM radio, leaving WCCO for KSTP after the 2006 season and renewing their deal with KSTP when their initial contract expired after the 2010 season." With the move to KTWN, the Twins could "alleviate the frustrations of some listeners who have trouble picking up an AM broadcast at night, when the stations are forced to power down their signal" (ST. PAUL PIONEER-PRESS, 8/14). In Minneapolis, Neal Justin notes the "only pro team" in the city on AM radio next year will be the T'Wolves. KFAN, the rightsholder for the Vikings and Univ. of Minnesota football, "switched its signal from AM to FM last year," and WNBA Lynx games are on KLCI-FM. Detroit-based Jacobs Media consultant Fred Jacobs said that sports stations "are moving to FM because adult males are turning away from AM radio." However, the "downside of FM" is that a weaker signal "may make it harder for fans in outlying parts of the Twin Cities to hear the broadcasts." KSTP "will continue to broadcast Twins' ancillary programs such as 'The Ron Gardenhire Show,'" as KTWN "plans to continue an all-music format" (Minneapolis STAR TRIBUNE, 8/15).
