Anxious to show that the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights made the right call by shifting their local TV rights from pay TV back to broadcast, Scripps Sports put out a press release Wednesday touting a 135% increase in reach for the team via their new TV home, KMCC-TV in Las Vegas.
Through five Golden Knights games broadcast locally on Channel 34 so far, Scripps says, the team has averaged an 8.5 household rating, with the high being a 10.5 HH rating for the defending Stanley Cup champions' game against Dallas on Oct. 21 (which accounts for around 10.5 million Nevada households).
That 8.5 HH average overall represents a 135% increase in reach over what the Golden Knights averaged locally in nationally televised games last season confined to pay TV via ESPN and TNT, Scripps adds.
Of course, what we'd really like to know is how the Golden Knights' KMCC-TV performance compares to that of the now-defunct regional sports network the team left behind, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. Since Scripps used Comscore data to come up with its thesis, and Comscore doesn't have numbers for SportsNet, we'll have to live with this telling but imperfect comparison.
Notably, the reach increase figures described by Scripps don't include usage of from the Golden Knights' new direct-to-consumer streaming platform, which was jointly launched by Scripps Sports and Ted Leonsis-backed tech company ViewLift.
According to Scripps, the $70-a-season platform has delivered an average of 1 million viewing minutes per week since the Golden Knights started their regular season on Oct. 10.
“The viewership and engagement we are seeing for the Golden Knights this year have grown incredibly and should dispel any doubts about the power of an over-the-air broadcast channel to serve sports fans,” Scripps Sports President Brian Lawlor said in a statement. “The Golden Knights wanted to reach more of their fans, and they clearly are.”
“This partnership with Scripps Sports has allowed more of our fans to access our games on TV than ever before,” Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz said. “With the team’s success as defending Stanley Cup champions and our 9-0-1 start, we couldn’t have asked for a better time to provide this enhanced access for our fans in the Las Vegas Valley and beyond.”
The Golden Knights are among a handful of NBA and NHL teams this season that have left regional sports networks and returned to their ancestral over-the-air broadcast homes, complimented by DTC streaming components.
