Sergei Bobrovsky, #72, and the Florida Panthers celebrate winning the Stanley Cup after a 2-1 victory over the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, Florida, on June 24, 2024.
Bruce Bennett | Getty Images Sports | Getty Images
The Florida Panthers are skating to a new TV station.
The National Hockey League Stanley Cup champions have inked a deal to broadcast regular season games on local Florida broadcasters, leaving behind the regional cable sports network that had long been their home.
The Panthers, who have appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals for two consecutive years, signed a multi-year deal with E.W. Scripps This allows the broadcast station owner to televise all locally produced Panthers preseason and regular season games, as well as the first round of the playoffs.
The Panthers are also partnering with Scripps Sports to launch a streaming service, with more details expected before the start of the 2024 season.
Terms of the deal, which begins next season, have not been disclosed.
Professional sports teams are increasingly striking deals with local broadcaster owners as the regional sports network market declines as consumers cancel their paid TV subscriptions and switch to streaming.
In particular, Diamond Sports Group, the owner of the Panthers, prior The TV house Bally Sports Florida has been under bankruptcy protection since March 2023.
“After careful review and dialogue, Diamond reached a mutual agreement with the Florida Panthers to terminate our existing broadcast rights agreement,” a Diamond spokesperson said in a statement. “We value the relationships we have built with the Panthers and their fans, and we wish them the best. We remain in productive discussions with the NHL regarding future arrangements with our remaining contracted team partners and are focused on reorganizing as a sustainable and profitable entity.”
Since filing for bankruptcy, Diamond Sports has terminated numerous contracts with professional sports teams, subsequently relocating those contracts to television networks.
It has become a major moment of change for the industry. The regional sports network business model has long been lucrative for leagues and teams, as networks pay top dollar for the rights to games that aren’t broadcast nationally.
These deals with broadcast station owners promise a big increase in reach and audience. Games are now available on broadcast networks to all pay TV subscribers, and also free to those using an antenna.
While the terms of these deals were not disclosed, they are unlikely to yield the same size contracts as those with regional sports networks. The Panthers had Reportedly extended their contract with Bally Sports Florida in 2022, doubling the value of the team's previous 10-year contract, which was approximately $6 million per year.
Last year, Scripps signed a similar deal with the 2023 Stanley Cup champions, the Las Vegas Golden Knights.
Meanwhile, the National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz are also broadcast on local broadcast stations. Several broadcast station owners have expressed interest in becoming the home of professional sports, as the traditional RSN business is under significant pressure.
There may be more possibilities as Diamond Sports is still working to emerge from bankruptcy protection.
Last month, the leagues expressed concerns about the future of Diamond Sports and whether the company could come up with a viable business plan for the coming seasons. Diamond Sports will return to bankruptcy court later this month to seek approval of its reorganization plan.
