NHL: Arizona Coyotes Ditch Bally to Offer All Local Games OTA with Scripps Sports
The Arizona Coyotes and Diamond Sports Net Arizona agreed to end the Coyotes telecast rights agreement today. This means the Coyotes join the Phoenix Suns in offering all of its local games over the air for free.
The Coyotes are teaming with Scripps Sports as a broadcast partner. This season, 81 of the 82 Coyotes games will be broadcast on Channel 15.2 (KNXV.2), the Antenna TV network, over the air (with an antenna). Antenna TV can also be found on channel 95 on COX. One Coyotes game (Dec. 21 at San Jose) will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+.
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The move leaves Bally Sports Arizona as a zombie channel without any sports rights. The channel lost the Arizona Diamondbacks in July.
Coyotes leaders say the team will offer a direct-to-consumer streaming option for the team’s games. This week, the NBA's Suns announced the launch of its DTC platform: Suns Live. Details and pricing of the Coyotes’ streaming platform have not been released.
Coyotes play-by-play announcer Matt McConnell, color analyst Tyson Nash, and hosts Todd Walsh and Jody Jackson will be back for all Coyotes broadcasts.
Broadcasts will include pregame and postgame coverage for every game. Scripps stations also will broadcast all Coyotes games in Tucson (games will be on KGUN 9.2 – Cox channel 85 and Comcast channel 1179) and Salt Lake City (games will alternate between KUPX Utah 16 and KSTU 13.2 Antenna TV).
Scripps, the official broadcast partner of the team, and the Coyotes will co-produce a monthly 30-minute “Club Insider” program that showcases the team, its players and the organization on and off the ice. The show will air on KASW (Phoenix) and KWBA (Tucson).
“We are thrilled to partner with Scripps Sports and provide free Coyotes games to our fans,” said Coyotes Owner, Chairman & Governor Alex Meruelo. “This is a major win for us to be able to increase our reach and continue to grow the great game of hockey in the desert. We are committed to winning, committed to the Valley, and committed to doing what’s best for our incredibly loyal and passionate fanbase.”
“Scripps Sports looks forward to working with the Arizona Coyotes to showcase their exciting young team,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports. “We believe the future of this team is bright, and we look forward to making the games available for all fans to enjoy.”
“This is an innovative collaboration that will ensure that all our great fans can watch Coyotes hockey on television for free and allows us to better connect with our incredible fans and fans-in-waiting,” said Coyotes President & CEO Xavier A. Gutierrez.