For the upcoming NHL season, supporters of the Seattle Kraken will have a new venue to cheer on their team.
The team announced on Thursday a novel new broadcast agreement that will see games streamed on Amazon Prime Video as well as the Tegna stations KING 5 and KONG in the Seattle region.
Kraken games have been aired on regional cable broadcaster ROOT Sports for the previous three seasons; the move marks a departure from that network.
The multi-year agreements include free over-the-air broadcasting of all non-nationally televised Kraken games (over 70 total), by KING 5 and KONG.
Every non-nationally televised game, including the regular season, postseason, and championship round, will be streamed on Prime Video for Prime members in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. With Prime Video as a direct streaming partner, the Kraken is the first NHL team.
One of the franchise’s current main players is Amazon:
The tech giant purchased the naming rights to Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena back in 2020, during the renovation of the former KeyArena. Among the team’s owners is Andy Jassy, CEO of Amazon.com. The company’s “Just Walk Out” cashierless technology is used throughout the arena, and team helmets bear its name.
Additionally, Amazon has a history of pursuing lucrative streaming rights to sports events; this is best demonstrated by its 2033 “Thursday Night Football” agreement with the NFL. Additionally, the business announced last year that it would stream five NASCAR Cup Series races starting in 2025 as part of a seven-year content deal with NASCAR.
The live sports streams are available to Prime members for $139 per year or $14.99 per month, and those in the Pacific Northwest can now watch Kraken games. 2022 saw Amazon announce an increase in U.S. Prime signups during its first-ever NFL game exclusive stream.
Prime Video Expands Kraken Coverage
According to a press release, Charlie Neiman, head of sports partnerships at Prime Video, “Seattle Kraken hockey is synonymous with the Pacific Northwest, and we’re thrilled to bring Kraken games to Prime members in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.” “Live Kraken games provide additional value for Prime members throughout the Kraken home footprint and add to our growing selection of premium live sports,” the company said.
The Kraken’s official television partner will be KING 5, an NBC affiliate. Next season, John Forslund, JT Brown, Eddie Olczyk, Alison Lukan, and Nick Olczyk will still be the game broadcasters.
Every game that isn’t shown nationally will air on Tegna’s KONG, and several games will be simulcast on KING 5 during the season. Furthermore, Tegna stations KGW, the NBC affiliate in Portland, and KREM, the CBS affiliate in Spokane, Washington, will provide free over-the-air broadcasts of the games. There will be more markets added in the Pacific Northwest.
There is also television game broadcasting for the Arizona Coyotes and Las Vegas Golden Knights. President of the Coyotes Xavier Gutierrez stated that reaching more households, satisfying the fan base, and gaining new fans was essential following a new TV deal last year.
The home field for Seattle Mariners baseball games is still ROOT Sports.
