Arizona Coyotes, the National Hockey League (NHL) team, is set to air its local games on over-the-air networks following a multi-year deal with broadcast station owner E.W. Scripps Co. This comes after Diamond Sports Group, the largest owner of regional sports networks and currently under bankruptcy protection, declined to renew its contract with the Coyotes.
The move signifies the increasing pressure on cable TV due to cord-cutting trends, as fans switch to broadcasting stations and streaming options for sports media rights. A streaming option for Coyotes’ games will soon be available, according to a joint release by Scripps and the Coyotes.
Previously, the Coyotes’ local games were aired on Bally Sports Arizona. However, other professional teams that aired on this network also found new TV homes after Diamond rejected their contracts. These include Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks, NBA’s Phoenix Suns, and WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury.
The rejection of these contracts led to the demise of Bally Sports Arizona. Diamond claimed that the network was not profitable, which led to its decision to reject contracts with all teams.
The Phoenix Suns and Mercury similarly reached a deal with Gray Television earlier this year and are introducing a direct-to-consumer streaming option. MLB took over the distribution of the Diamondbacks and San Diego Padres games when Diamond rejected their contracts.
Scripps and Gray are among broadcast station owners aggressively pursuing rights to local games in light of these developments. Scripps has already secured deals to carry NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights – winners of this year’s Stanley Cup – and several WNBA games on its networks.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. Discovery is exiting the regional sports network business by year-end after inheriting it in the 2022 merger between Warner Media and Discovery. This has left several teams in search of new platforms for broadcasting their games.
While cable bundles still attract many consumers for broadcast networks, over-the-air channels potentially increase a team’s reach and viewership since they are free. However, it remains uncertain whether deals with broadcast stations can emulate the lucrative model of regional sports networks.
The shift to streaming services and away from traditional cable TV bundles has significantly transformed the local games landscape. Diamond, which filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, ceased paying rights fees for some teams on its channels and is now seeking to renegotiate other rights payments deals while under bankruptcy protection. It claimed that its rights fees to the Coyotes amounted to “tens of millions of dollars annually” and increased each year.