On April 20, the company struck a historic multi-year agreement with the Women’s National Basketball Association to televise games on Friday nights during the regular season on Ion, the diginet that it acquired in January 2021.
Now, The E.W. Scripps Co.‘s Scripps Sports, under the direction of Brian Lawlor, has perhaps scored a hat trick of epic proportions.
It’s landed a multi-year agreement with a highly popular National Hockey League franchise.
The Las Vegas Golden Knights and Scripps Sports have signed a deal that will bring every locally broadcast game to viewers on free-to-air television.
This includes Southern Nevada, and areas of Utah, Idaho and Montana, that are currently a part of the NHL team’s broadcast territory.
Scripps Sports’ securitization of the Golden Knights, popularly known across Las Vegas as “VGK,” means AT&T SportsNet will no longer be the official broadcast network of the hockey team.
Financial terms of the agreement, which allows Scripps Sports to televise all non-nationally exclusive Golden Knights games, has obtained the necessary approvals from the National Hockey League.
That’s in contrast to the NBA’s Phoenix Suns and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, which has signed a “transformative” deal with Gray Television that Diamond Sports Group, the Sinclair Broadcast Group-owned subsidiary presently under Chapter 11 reorganization which holds the rights, angrily protested.
A ‘NEW’ ION IN SOUTHERN NEVADA
While Scripps owns ABC affiliate KTNV-13, Golden Knights games will air on Ion-affiliated KMCC-DT 34, a property that in 2009 became a Mega TV affiliate through an arrangement with Cranston Acquisition, its owner, and Spanish Broadcasting System. Cranston ended up in bankruptcy, and agreed to sell KMCC to Entravision Communications. In January 2020, Entravision spun KMCC to Ion Media, which was later acquired by Scripps.
KMCC, which uses digital channel 32, will see its ION programming move to another Las Vegas broadcast channel. As such, KMCC will be rebranded as an independent station before the 2023-24 NHL season begins.
What can viewers expect? “In addition to the Golden Knights games, the new KMCC will broadcast local and national news, local sports and additional entertainment programming,” Scripps says.
Meanwhile, KTNV-13 is poised to provide “a strong marketing platform for KMCC and the Golden Knights telecasts.” KTNV has carried Golden Knights preseason games since the franchise’s inaugural season of 2017-2018.
In just five years, fan fervor across Las Vegas for “VGK” is unquestionably one of the strongest seen for any hockey team, including such established franchises as the Toronto Maple Leafs. It is the first and only pro team founded in Las Vegas, as the NFL Raiders relocated from Oakland and the Major League Baseball Athletics are still finalizing a deal that would see them move to Las Vegas.
Golden Knights President/CEO Kerry Bubolz said, “This deal is a significant win for our fans because they will be able to see our games on television and for free, if they wish. That was our goal in finding a new TV partner. We wanted to serve our fanbase in the best way possible.”
The parting of ways between AT&T SportsNet and the Golden Knights also comes amid industry chatter that the MVPD-distributed regional sports networks under the AT&T banner are seeking to exit the business.
While broadcast access and a no-cost channel on local cable systems will be had for the hockey team, the Golden Knights and Scripps say they are “committed to collaborating to provide fans with a direct-to-consumer streaming option as part of this partnership.” Details will be announced when plans are finalized.
The Vegas Golden Knights broadcasters, Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy, will remain on the call for Scripps Sports’ games.
Broadcasts will include pregame and postgame coverage for every game, with additional distribution into Idaho (Boise, Idaho Falls and Twin Falls), Montana (Billings, Butte-Bozeman, Glendive, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula), Nevada (Reno), Utah (Salt Lake City) and Wyoming (Casper-Riverton and Cheyenne-Scottsbluff).
Lawlor, President of Scripps Sports, commented, “We have been impressed by the Golden Knights’ commitment to winning and their desire to connect and engage with fans in Vegas and outer markets, as well. This is going to be a wonderful partnership, and it’s the fans who will benefit most. We launched Scripps Sports with the belief that we could help teams reach more fans through our stations, which do not depend on subscriptions and added fees for the consumer.”
The Golden Knights are the first professional sports team to reach a deal with Scripps Sports, which launched in December.
