SEATTLE, WASHINGTON - MAY 07: Fans watch a pregame show in a general view before the game between the Seattle Kraken and the Dallas Stars in Game Three of the Second Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Climate Pledge Arena on May 07, 2023 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images)Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images Sport / Getty Images
The Seattle Kraken announced on Thursday that their locally televised games will have a new home starting next season.
An agreement has been reached between the team and Seattle NBC affiliates KING-TV and KONG-TV, under the Tegna corporate broadcast umbrella, while simultaneously streaming all local telecasts via Amazon Prime Video. The television rights partnership is known to be a multi-year agreement, and over 70 games will be televised locally, the team said in a news release.
“Our goal is to increase the ways they can watch our games – whether they’re cheering us on at home or on the go,” aid Kraken owner Sam Holloway in a statement. “To have both TEGNA and Prime Video as trusted partners is a dream come true. I can’t wait for more fans to fall in love with Kraken hockey.”
John Forslund, wrapping up 29th year in play-by-play behind an NHL microphone, will return to the Kraken TV booth next season with J.T. Brown, Eddie Olczyk, Nick Olczyk, and Alison Lukan, according to the team.
Kraken radio broadcasts will continue next season locally on 93.3 KJR-FM through parent company iHeartMedia, and the 20-station affiliate Kraken Audio Network, offering coverage to stations across Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska, and Montana. Everett Fitzhugh serves as play-by-play announcer on the radio side, with Al Kinisky handling color commentary duties and Mike Benton as pregame, intermission, and postgame show host.
“I’m over the moon with this,” Forslund told 93.3 KJR-FM. “First of all, let’s just say for the three years of television I’ve been part of, the ROOT experience for me has been wonderful. They’re ultra-professional, they did a great job with it. The proof is in the pudding. Unfortunately, the cable industry is changing. It’s been stretched out.”
The multi-layered partnership, across terrestrial television and streaming platforms, effectively ends a three-year telecast partnership with ROOT Sports, who served as the previous TV rights partner for the Kraken. The move also signifies another dynamic shift in the role of regional sports network business models, specifically on the NHL level, with teams such as the Vegas Golden Knights and the Arizona Coyotes moving to over-the-air carriers such as Scripps Sports amidst RSN’s dealing with financial struggles or restructuring.
“We’ll move to a new horizon with this, and I’m very happy to be a part of it,” said Forslund.
AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain, who previously carried Vegas’ telecasts, closed after parent company Warner Bros. Discovery announced they were leaving the RSN business. Diamond Sports Group, who carried the previous Coyotes rightsholders in Bally Sports Arizona, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 13 months ago.
ROOT Sports, who previously had ties to Warner Bros. Discovery, is owned by the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball and individually offers a healthier business outlook. Nonetheless, the move is likely to increase Kraken viewership options with the shifting trend of telecast rights to an over-the-air carrier.
“Our collaboration with the Seattle Kraken marks a significant milestone in our commitment to celebrating the essence of local sports on local broadcast television,” TEGNA president and chief executive offer Dave Lougee said in a statement.
Prime Video will stream all local telecasts for Prime members throughout Washington, Oregon and Alaska, offering preseason, regular season, and first round playoff streamed coverage. TEGNA affiliates KGW in Portland and KREM in Spokane, will carry telecast coverage as part of the agreement. National TV partners TNT, TBS, ABC, and ESPN will continue to air nationwide coverage for NHL games.