Arizona Coyotes land TV deal with Scripps Sports
The Arizona Coyotes have found a broadcast partner for the 2023-24 season.
The Coyotes formed a multi-year agreement with Scripps Sports to televise all locally broadcast Coyotes games over the air to residents of Arizona and surrounding states within the team's broadcast territory on Thursday.
On the same day, it was announced that the Coyotes and Bally Sports Arizona received approval to end their multi-year contract.
The season will begin on Friday, Oct. 13 in New Jersey against the Devils.
Scripps owns ABC15 Arizona and will show 81 of the 82 games. One Coyotes game (Dec. 21 at San Jose) will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+. People can watch 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.
Coyotes play-by-play announcer Matt McConnell, color analyst Tyson Nash and hosts Todd Walsh and Jody Jackson will all return for the broadcasts.
Part of the deal includes 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).
Bally Sports rejects contract with Coyotes
Thursday marked the end of Bally Sports Arizona when Diamond Sports Group, the bankrupt parent of Bally Sports, received approval from a U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Texas to reject the Coyotes' local rights on Thursday.
“The debtors have concluded that the Coyotes agreement is not necessary to [its] business and is unlikely to provide a net benefit,” Diamond Sports Group said in a statement, according to Front Office Sports.
The team had been under contract with DSG through the 2024-25 season with upcoming rights fee payments due on Nov. 1 and Dec. 1.
The Coyotes were the last team with Bally Sports Arizona after the Suns, Mercury, and Diamondbacks all left the network this year.
The NHL teams that Bally Sports currently has contacts with are the Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild, Columbus Blue Jackets, Anaheim Ducks, Carolina Hurricanes, Nashville Predators, Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Los Angeles Kings.
Diamond Sports, which owns 19 networks under the Bally Sports banner, has been in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas since it filed in March. The company is still set to broadcast other NHL teams, although it remains in pursuit of an extended deadline to file a formal reorganization plan.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona Coyotes get TV contract with Scripps Sports
