The Arizona Coyotes have reached a deal to have their National Hockey League games broadcast by Scripps Sports, the latest example of a team moving from a cable sports network to broadcast.
A direct-to-consumer offering of Coyotes games is also planned by the team.
Coyotes games had been televised by Bally Sports Arizona, which is being closed by Diamond Sports Group, the Sinclair subsidiary currently under bankruptcy court protection. The bankruptcy filing allowed Diamond to walk away from its Coyotes rights deal, which Diamond claimed was a money loser.
Bally Sports Arizona previously lost the NBA Phoenix Suns, the WNBA Phoenix Mercury and Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks..
The Suns and Mercury made a deal to be broadcast by Gray Television. Major league baseball set up a new cable channel that has carried Diamondback games since July.
Next season 81 of 82 Coyotes games will appear on a digital signal from Scripps’ KNXV-TV, channel 15.2 in Phoenix. The channel carries Antenna TV network programming. (One Coyote game is scheduled to appear on ESPN Plus.)
KNXV channel 15.2 is also carried by Cox Cable on channel 95.
Scripps stations also will broadcast all Coyotes games in Tucson (games will be on KGUN channel 9.2 (Cox channel 85 on cable and Comcast channel 1179) and Salt Lake City (games will alternate between KUPX-TV on channel 16 and KSTU-TV on channel 13.2).
Financial terms were not disclosed.
“Scripps Sports looks forward to working with the Arizona Coyotes to showcase their exciting young team,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports. “We believe the future of this team is bright, and we look forward to making the games available for all fans to enjoy.”
KNXV, is the ABC affiliate in Phoenix on its primary channels, and Scripps said the station will provide a strong marketing platform for the Coyotes games in the market.
The Coyotes will be producing the games. Play-by-play announcer Matt McConnell, color analyst Tyson Nash and hosts Todd Walsh and Jody Jackson will be back for all Coyotes broadcasts, the team said..
“This is an innovative collaboration that will ensure that all our great fans can watch Coyotes hockey on television for free and allows us to better connect with our incredible fans and fans-in-waiting,” said Coyotes President & CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez.
Scripps stations also will broadcast all Coyotes games in Tucson (games will be on KGUN 9.2 – Cox channel 85 and Comcast channel 1179) and Salt Lake City (games will alternate between KUPX Utah 16 and KSTU 13.2 Antenna TV).
Broadcasts will include pregame and postgame coverage for every game.
Scripps, as the official broadcast partner of the team, and the Coyotes will co-produce a monthly 30-minute Club Insider program that showcases the team, its players and the organization on and off the ice. The show will air on KASW in Phoenix and KWBA-TV in Tucson.
The move is the latest sign of the deep troubles of the regional sports business.
In addition to Diamond Sports activities in bankruptcy court, Time Warner Discovery has opted to get out of the RSN business, and sold its AT&T SportsNet Southwest to the Houston Astros and Rockets last week.
