Starting with the 2024-2025 season, the National Hockey League franchise serving the Pacific Northwest will see more than 70 non-nationally televised games appear on broadcast TV.
It’s thanks to an agreement announced Thursday between the Seattle Kraken and TEGNA.
All non-nationally televised games will be broadcast on KONG-TV in Seattle, with a number of games throughout the season simulcast on NBC sibling KING-5.
In addition, games will air on TEGNA’s NBC affiliate in Portland, Ore., KGW-8, and on the CBS affiliate owned by TEGNA in Spokane, KREM-2.
TEGNA will work with additional broadcast companies in the coming weeks to expand free over-the-air broadcast access to all available television markets in Washington, Oregon and Alaska.
The team also signed a deal with Amazon Prime Video, which will stream all non-nationally televised games for Prime members in Washington, Oregon and Alaska, including pre-season, regular season and the first round of playoffs. The Kraken are the first NHL team to partner directly with Prime Video.
The agreements mean the Kraken will be moving from MVPD-distributed ROOT Sports. The team had aired all of its games on the channel since its first season in 2021-2022.
“ROOT has been a terrific partner for us; we have appreciated their support as we determined our broadcast plans moving forward,” said Kraken owner Sam Holloway. “Today’s announcement is a game changer for our fans. Our goal is to increase the ways they can watch our games – whether they’re cheering us on at home or on the go. 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.”
TEGNA President/CEO Dave Lougee added, “Our collaboration with the Seattle Kraken marks a significant milestone in our commitment to celebrating the essence of local sports on local broadcast television. We look forward to bringing every thrilling moment of Kraken hockey to all viewers in the Pacific Northwest as we build on our long-standing commitment to the region.”
John Forslund, JT Brown, Eddie Olczyk, Alison Lukan and Nick Olczyk will continue broadcasting the games next season.
