The Minnesota Wild’s broadcast mess took another twist this week, but for bars and restaurants in the team’s local market, there’s finally a workaround.
Wild+ launched at the start of the season, giving fans a way to watch through Prime Video for $19.99 per month or $99.99 for the year. Charter Spectrum subscribers can also access it through their cable package. But Comcast (Xfinity), DirecTV and Dish Network have not reached an agreement with the NHL to carry Wild+, leaving plenty of fans stuck without the platform they want.
That problem hit local businesses too. Through the first seven games of the regular season, Wild games had been barred from bars and restaurants, because those establishments couldn’t legally show the broadcasts without the right cable or satellite packages in place.
Then Wednesday brought a fix.
According to Michael Russo of The Athletic, starting with Thursday’s game against the Blues, bars and restaurants in the Wild’s local TV market can sign up for hospitality service through “Fubo TV.”
Fubo
- Michael Russo (@RussoHockey) October 14, 2026
Through a new distribution partnership with the NHL, FuboTV and Integrated Sports Media, Wild+ is now available to bars and restaurants across the Minnesota Wild local broadcast territory. Businesses interested in subscribing are told to contact Integrated Sports Media at 1-866-396-8283 or [email protected].
Fubo was already on board with Wild+ when it launched, and now it stands alone as the only streaming platform offering the Wild as part of a channel lineup package. YouTube TV and Sling are still on the outside looking in.
It doesn’t solve the cable and satellite standoff for fans watching at home, and the Wild are still being pointed at Comcast for why Xfinity customers can’t access games through their cable package. But it does get Wild hockey back on the screens at the local bar and restaurant level.
That matters with Minnesota set to host St. Louis on Thursday at 7 p.m. The Wild are 4-2-1 entering that one at Grand Casino Arena, coming off a 5-2 loss in Winnipeg on the second night of a back-to-back.
In Other News...
Wild Injury Problems Just Reached Jared Spurgeon
The injury list around the Wild has been piling up early enough that every new absence feels less like bad luck and more like part of the nightly routine. Brock Fabers fractured skull already put a major dent in the blue line, and injuries have also touched Filip Gustavsson, Nick Foligno and Marcus Foligno, leaving Minnesota to juggle its roster while trying to stay afloat through the opening stretch.
Now the burden has reached captain Jared Spurgeon, who was unavailable for the next game after getting hurt in the previous matchup. With Nico Sturm also leaving that game after taking a shot to the head, the Wild had to rework things again for their meeting with the Winnipeg Jets, a reminder that the team is spending as much energy adjusting its lineup as it is trying to build any kind of early-season rhythm. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Waste Another Kaprizov Night In Frustrating Home Loss
Kirill Kaprizov did his part, but it still was not enough to keep the Wild from getting burned at home again. Minnesota fell 5-2 to Winnipeg in the second game of a back-to-back, and Kaprizov accounted for both goals while trying to drag a tired lineup into the points column against one of the Wests steadier clubs.
The Jets did most of their damage through balance and speed, with Cole Perfetti striking twice and Mark Scheifele piling up a goal and two assists. Winnipeg also got a big night from its top line, leaving the Wild to sort through another frustrating result in a building where they needed more than a standout effort from their star winger. [Read more 🡒]
Wild Suddenly Have A Goalie Dilemma Fans Should Be Watching
Jesper Wallstedt has given the Wild something they always want but rarely get for free: steady goaltending while the incumbent is out. With Filip Gustavsson sidelined by offseason hip surgery, Wallstedt has handled the primary job well enough to keep Minnesota from feeling the absence as sharply as it might have, and it has quietly changed the shape of the season in net. What looked like a temporary fill-in assignment is starting to feel like a real evaluation of where the organization stands at the position.
Gustavsson is expected back later in the year, and when he does return the Wild will have a decision to manage rather than a simple handshake and a thank-you. Two capable goalies can be a luxury, but they can also become a logjam when the offseason arrives and the club has to weigh contracts, roles and possible trade interest. For Minnesota, the upside is obvious. The harder part may be figuring out how to keep both goalies happy, and whether that is even realistic. [Read more 🡒]