Knights announce streaming service to complement new TV deal

By Ben Gotz

Las Vegas Review-Journal

1 year ago

Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley speaks during a news conference at Circa resort-casino wi ... — Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley speaks during a news conference at Circa resort-casino with, from left, team president Kerry Bubolz, Scripps Company CEO Adam Symson, broadcasters Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy looking on on Thursday, May 4, 2023, in Las Vegas. (Heidi Fang/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @HeidiFang

Instead of broadcasting the game in Edmonton where the Vegas Golden Knights played the Blackhawks, announcers Dave Goucher and Shane Hnidy narrated the game from an empty T-Mobile Arena on Sunday, Aug. 16, 2020, in Las Vegas. (Ellen Schmidt/Las Vegas Review-Journal) @ellenschmidttt

The Golden Knights have a streaming option to go with their new linear TV partner next season.

The Knights announced Monday they have a multiyear deal with ViewLift for a service that will provide their games on all major devices in time for their first preseason game Sept. 24. They said ViewLift will create team-branded properties on the web, iOS and Android devices, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, Vizio and Xbox, featuring games and other content.

The Knights said more details will be released in the coming weeks. Terms of the deal and the cost of the streaming service were not disclosed.

ViewLift, which also works with the Washington Capitals, will complement the Knights’ new over-the-air partner Scripps Sports. Starting next year, the majority of the team’s preseason, regular-season and first-round playoff games will be available for free on local channel KMCC-34. Some Knights games will also be simulcast on KTNV-13.

The club’s TV broadcast crew — play-by-play announcer Dave Goucher, color commentator Shane Hnidy, rinkside reporter Ashali Vise, studio host Daren Millard and studio analyst Darren Eliot — will all return.

The Knights’ new over-the-air and streaming package for local fans could serve as an example for other professional sports teams in the years to come. Many NHL, NBA and MLB teams show their games through agreements with a regional sports network, but that model is facing challenges as cable subscribers dwindle.

Diamond Sports Group, which owns the TV rights to 12 NHL teams and 42 professional clubs in total, filed for bankruptcy in March.

“Our alliance with ViewLift and Scripps Sports enables our fans throughout the region to enjoy the action on whatever device they choose and from wherever they are,” Knights president and CEO Kerry Bubolz said in a statement. “We will give our fans every possible option to interact with the team and watch hockey live and on demand. It’s essential that our TV and digital services reflect our Stanley Cup winning on-ice performance, and I know that with Scripps Sports and ViewLift we will achieve this.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.