Breaking the RSN model used by Mariners-owned ROOT Sports in favor of showing games on free channels “has gained in popularity among NHL teams the past year”Getty Images
The Kraken have ended their Root Sports partnership in favor of “showing games for free over the air next season with Tegna-owned stations locally as well as through Amazon Prime streaming across three states,” according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. Seattle-based KING-TV becomes the team’s official television partner in the multiyear deal and will simulcast “more than 15 of the 70-plus non-nationally televised Kraken games to be aired on its KONG sister station in Seattle, as well as Tegna-owned affiliates in Spokane and Portland." Tegna will work with "additional broadcast companies in Washington, Oregon and Alaska to further distribute games throughout those three states.” Beyond showing the games, KING-TV will also “produce additional content that includes a weekly Kraken variety show.” The move to break from the RSN model used by Mariners-owned Root Sports in favor of showing games on free channels has "gained in popularity among NHL teams the past year.” The Kraken’s new streaming deal is the “first between an NHL team and Amazon.” Amazon Prime users will “automatically have Kraken games included within their $14.99 monthly or $139 yearly membership cost and won’t have to subscribe for any add-on service.” There is a “significantly lower financial difference” between annual rights fees previously paid the Kraken by Root Sports as part of their initial five-year deal and what they are guaranteed through this venture. Going over-the-air makes the new venture “heavily dependent on advertising revenue,” though “bigger ratings through more people watching the free channels instead of paying a monthly cable fee could narrow the difference” (SEATTLE TIMES, 4/25).
