In a significant move on the South Florida broadcast landscape, the Florida Panthers are moving their games off Bally Sports Florida and shifting them to WSFL TV Channel 39, a decision that will make the team’s 70-game TV package available to far more homes than they would have been otherwise.
This marks the first time in two decades that one of South Florida’s NBA, MLB or NHL teams — leagues that have traditionally placed their local packages on cable — instead will air on an over-the-air TV station.
The move to shift games was initiated by the Panthers, but the Panthers framed it as a mutual decision because it required Bally to authorize the dissolution of their multiyear contract. The Panthers declined to say if they paid Bally to break the contract.
Scripps broadcasting, which owns Channel 39, is paying an undisclosed rights fee for the games.
Mark Zarthar, the Panthers’ chief strategy officer, said “we fully anticipate our on-air talent to carry over from Bally, pending their employment status with Bally.” That includes announcers Steve Goldstein and Randy Moller, among others.
Scripps — not Bally or the Panthers — will produce the games.
The 70-game package also will air on WHDT TV (Channel 9) in West Palm Beach and an undisclosed station in Fort Myers.
And the Panthers also will make their games available on an app; details and pricing haven’t been finalized.
The Panthers’ departure from Bally Sports Florida comes two months after Comcast yanked the Bally networks off the air because of a financial carriage dispute. With no end in sight to that dispute, the Panthers moved quickly to shift their games to free TV next season.
Mark Zarthar, the Panthers’ chief strategy officer, said the switch was made to increase the team’s accessibility and visibility.
“We are available in every household with a television now,” he said. “We will now be available in over 2.6 million households in Miami Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach and Fort Myers. We are available in every household with a television now. Viewership doubled in Las Vegas when they went [from cable] to an over-the-air structure.”
Zarther thanked Bally “for being tremendous partners for 30 years.”
Bally Sports Florida officials said, in a statement, “after careful review and dialogue, Diamond reached a mutual agreement with the Florida Panthers to end our existing telecast rights contract.”
For Scripps, the Panthers will be the third NHL team, joining the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Utah Hockey Club, formerly the Phoenix Coyotes.
“Scripps has always had a big footprint with five TV stations in Florida,” Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor said by phone. “We have a really big presence in South Florida. Our footprint lines up with territory for the Panthers.
“We bring established TV stations with an over-the-air broadcast presence, unlike regional sports networks which are limited to cable and satellite. As cord cutting happens, there are more and more people receiving television through antennas or smarts TVs. We can provide that increased coverage to the Panthers.”
Lawlor declined to say if Scripps will ask cable operators and satellite providers for an increased rights fee after acquiring Panthers rights. But if Scripps makes that request, it shouldn’t disrupt coverage of the games next season. Lawlor said Scripps’ deal with all major cable operators runs through at least next April.
The one exception could be the satellite provider DISH, which carries Channel 39 in Miami but — as Lawlor noted — sometimes resists carrying independent stations with local pro sports programming. But even if DISH dumps Channel 39, “viewers can still flip to television and have an antenna and watch the games,” Lawlor said.
Meanwhile, Scripps Sports and the Panthers will collaborate in the weeks ahead to launch a team-branded direct-to-consumer application that will offer 70 or so games as a streaming service, available on Android, Smart TVs and other devices. Though prices haven’t been determined, Lawlor noted that the Las Vegas Golden Knights app — which also is co-operated by Scripps and the team — costs $69.99 for the season.
The Heat and Marlins also must decide whether to try to move their games off Bally in the years ahead. This could naturally happen if Diamond Sports — Bally’s parent company — does not emerge solvent or operational from ongoing bankruptcy court proceedings.
The initial thinking had been that Bally Sports Florida and Sun would remain operational into next year, but that also could change if the Heat and Marlins try to yank their games off Bally.
The Heat indicated it has not finalized its broadcast plans for next season.
Bally Sports Florida management declined to answer when asked if it would allow the Heat and Marlins to escape their contracts and move their games elsewhere next season.
Scripps has not had recent conversations with the Heat or Marlins, according to a source.
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