The Arizona Coyotes have become the latest team to move from RSNs to broadcast television. Plus: ESPN has reached a deal with the Tiger Woods-backed TGL golf league; Jeff Van Gundy is less likely to appear on Knicks games than Mark Jackson; and more sports media news.
Coyotes latest to move over-the-air with Scripps deal
The Arizona Coyotes on Thursday announced a deal with Scripps Sports to carry the team’s local broadcasts on Scripps-owned over-the-air affiliates in Arizona and Utah, becoming the latest team to leave the RSN cable model for broadcast television. Coyotes games previously aired on Bally Sports Arizona, operated by the now-bankrupt Diamond Sports Group. Unlike the NBA Suns, whose departure from Bally Sports Arizona in May prompted Diamond to sue for breach of contract, the Coyotes’ exit was mutually agreed upon.
The Arizona RSN has now lost its three biggest rights partners, the Coyotes, Suns and MLB Diamondbacks, whose rights Diamond relinquished earlier this year.
Under the new deal, Coyotes games will air on subchannels KNXV.2 in Phoenix (affiliated with retro network Antenna TV) and KGUN 9.2 in Tuscon (an SD subchannel affiliated with comedy network Laff), plus a pair of channels in Salt Lake City: KSTU 13.2 (Antenna TV) and independent KUPX 16 (which will also carry Scripps’ Vegas Golden Knights games). The Coyotes are the third “Big Four” team to reach a deal with Scripps, joining the Golden Knights and NBA Jazz, and the second in Arizona to strike a broadcast-heavy rights deal — joining the Suns, whose deal with Gray Television includes games on independent affiliate KTVK.
In addition to the over-the-air deal, Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo said Thursday that the team will soon launch a direct-to-subscriber streaming service. The combination of over-the-air and streaming has become commonplace this year, with the Suns and Jazz announcing their direct-to-subscriber vehicles in the past week. (Coyotes 10.5, PHNX 10.5)
ESPN reaches deal to carry Tiger-backed TGL golf
ESPN announced Thursday that it has reached a deal to carry the new Tiger Woods-and-Rory McIlroy backed TGL golf venture, with the first two weeks of matches set to air live on the ESPN flagship network in primetime January 9 and 16. Woods is slated to play in the TGL events, which will consist of indoor, technologically-enhanced team competitions between six city-based franchises (Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, New York and two to be named later). Also slated to compete are McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas, Rickie Fowler and others.
Though a complete schedule was not announced on Thursday, all matches are slated to air on either ESPN or ESPN2, with simulcasts on ESPN+. (ESPN PR)
JVG unlikely to join Jackson on Knicks games, per NYP
The New York Post reported this week that while former ESPN NBA analyst Mark Jackson is in contention to join MSG Network as a fill-in for Walt “Clyde” Frazier, his former colleague Jeff Van Gundy is “very unlikely” to make the same move. The New York Daily News was first to report that Jackson and Van Gundy were under consideration by MSG.
Like all others laid off by ESPN, Jackson and Van Gundy are still being paid through the remainder of their contracts and would need permission from the company to take on another broadcasting role. Though not stated explicitly, the Post report implied that ESPN is more likely to grant Jackson permission to make the move than Van Gundy. (NYP 10.2)
Plus: CFP deal, NHL RedZone, Caple
— Apple, Amazon and NBC have held discussions with College Football Playoff executives about a potential rights deal, Front Office Sports reported this week. CFP executive director Bill Hancock said last week that upwards of ten companies had either made presentations or otherwise expressed interest in the rights. The CFP is expected to pursue multiple partners in its next deal after spending the first decade of its existence exclusively with ESPN. (FOS 10.4)
— ESPN said this week that it will carry an NFL RedZone-style NHL whiparound show on ESPN2 and ESPN+ October 24, a night on which all 32 teams are scheduled to play. Titled “Frozen Frenzy,” the show will begin at 7 PM ET on ESPN+ with ESPN2 starting its coverage an hour later, all opposite an ESPN tripleheader (Maple Leafs-Capitals at 6:00, Bruins-Blackhawks at 8:30 and Flyers-Golden Knights at 11). (ESPN PR 10.4)
— Longtime sportswriter Jim Caple, perhaps best known for his run at ESPN.com from 2001 to 2017, died last Sunday at 61 after suffering from ALS and dementia. In addition to his time at ESPN, Caple wrote for the St. Paul Pioneer-Press, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer and most recently The Athletic. (Seattle Sports 10.3)
