With Diamond Sports Group in bankruptcy proceedings, the Nashville Predators are exploring television options for 2024-25 and beyond in case rights holders are unable to air games, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation.
Diamond Sports Group, owner of Bally Sports and the current rights holder to Predators games, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March after failing to make $140 million in interest payments to lenders.
The move threw local broadcast deals into disarray: As many Predators fans will remember, Comcast/Xfinity dropped Bally Sports from its lineup on May 1.
One option for the Predators, sources said, would be to broadcast the game on a free, over-the-air station in Nashville.
If Bally Sports is unable to broadcast Predators games next season, and the Predators can find a local partner, anyone in the Nashville broadcast area could watch Predators games for free.
Another option is a direct-to-consumer model, where fans can pay a subscription fee to stream Predators games on their own devices, according to sources. The Vegas Golden Knights will launch a direct-to-consumer option in 2023 called “KnightTime+,” where fans can subscribe to watch Golden Knights games that are not broadcast nationally. The Golden Knights also broadcast on local terrestrial TV stations, giving fans two options to watch the games.
The Seattle Kraken have adopted a similar model, broadcasting locally on terrestrial TV stations as well as streaming on Amazon Prime.
The Predators could follow suit and offer both free over-the-air broadcast to fans and a direct-to-consumer pay option for non-local fans.
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Diamond Sports Group’s bankruptcy proceedings are scheduled to be completed by July 29. News regarding the Predators’ television rights for next season is expected to be announced after that date.