SUNRISE, Fla, and CINCINNATI, Ohio.—The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers have signed a multi-year agreement with Scripps Sports to locally broadcast Panthers hockey free for residents of Miami/Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers.
As part of the agreement Scripps and the team will also work together to launch a direct-to-consumer streaming service.
The games had aired on the Bally Sports regional sports network. NHL teams in Utah and Las Vegas have also cut broadcast deals with Scripps as part of its efforts to expand sports programming.
“After back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances and celebrating 30 years of Panthers Hockey in South Florida, we could not be more excited about the future of our hockey team. Scripps’ distribution network and accessibility makes them the ideal partner to stream and carry Panthers content on and off the ice,” said Panthers president and CEO Matthew Caldwell. “Panthers content will be available for free over the air and we are thrilled about the new homes this will reach as we continue to grow our great sport.”
Under this new agreement, The E.W. Scripps Company has the ability to televise all locally produced Panthers preseason, regular-season and round one games of the postseason with distribution on cable, satellite and over-the-air television, becoming the new home on television of Florida Panthers hockey.
Financial terms will not be disclosed.
More specifically, in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, all locally produced games will air on WSFL-TV, channel 39. In West Palm Beach, all locally produced games will air on WHDT-TV, channel 9. In Fort Myers, Scripps Sports will announce the broadcast channel in advance of next season.
The deal has obtained the necessary approvals from the National Hockey League, Scripps said.
As part of the agreement, Scripps Sports and the Panthers will also work together to launch a team-branded direct-to-consumer application with details to be announced prior to the 2024-2025 season. This direct-to-consumer application will be the destination for live streaming of all Scripps Sports-produced games throughout the team’s territory in South Florida.
“The Florida Panthers are the best team in the NHL, and their fans deserve to be able to see all of their games on every available broadcast platform, including free over-the-air,” said Brian Lawlor, Scripps Sports president. “When the Stanley Cup champions take the ice in October, Scripps Sports will be proud to bring all locally broadcast games to all the Panthers fans in Miami/Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers using our powerful over-the-air TV stations.”
Scripps Sports, which is now home to the last two Stanley Cup champions, will be responsible for the production of the pregame, in-game and postgame shows. Scripps Sports and the Panthers will partner to co-produce a weekly Panthers program that showcases the team, its players and the organization beyond the ice.
More details on the production and schedule will be available soon, Scripps said.
