SEATTLE (AP) — The Seattle Kraken will move their games to an over-the-air broadcaster and have a streaming partnership with Amazon’s Prime Video beginning with the 2024-25 season, the team announced Thursday.
The Kraken will be the first NHL team to have a streaming deal with Prime Video for all non-nationally televised games and will be available to Amazon Prime members in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. They are also the third individual team to have a streaming partnership with Prime Video, joining the New York Yankees and the Seattle Storm.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has a minority stake in the ownership group of the Kraken.
Seattle will partner with TEGNA for the over-the-air component, with most of the broadcasts airing on KONG-TV in Seattle. At least 15 of the games are expected to air on KING, the NBC affiliate in Seattle, with games also broadcast on TEGNA-owned stations in Portland, Oregon (KGW), and Spokane, Washington (KREM).
The team said TEGNA is working on other over-the-air options for broadcast partners in the three states.
Seattle had spent its first three seasons with games broadcast on ROOT Sports, which is primarily owned by the Seattle Mariners. But the regional sports network has run into financial and production issues in the past year which has left its future in question.
The Kraken and ROOT Sports agreed to mutually end their original partnership early.
“ROOT has been a terrific partner for us; we have appreciated their support as we determined our broadcast plans moving forward,” Kraken owner Sam Holloway said in a statement. “Today’s announcement is a game changer for our fans. Our goal is to increase the ways they can watch our games — whether they’re cheering us on at home or on the go. To have both TEGNA and Prime Video as trusted partners is a dream come true.”
The NHL also announced Thursday a two-year agreement with Prime Video that will make the streamer the exclusive home of Monday night NHL games broadcast in Canada. All Monday night NHL games broadcast in English in Canada will air through Prime Video for the 2024-25 and 2025-26 seasons.
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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of TEGNA throughout.
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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
The Associated Press
