Shortly after the Phoenix Suns entered into what appeared to be a broadcast TV deal for the rights that they used to sell to RSN Bally Sports Arizona, the NHL Vegas Golden Knights, entered into a true broadcast TV deal for their regional rights.
E.W. Scripps is operator of local TV stations mostly affiliated with major networks, including the ABC affiliate in Las Vegas, KTNV (channel 13). In 2020 Scripps acquired Ion Media, which operates the Ion broadcast network which primarily programs off network reruns (e.g., Law & Order SVU). Ion is distributed on a hybrid basis -- its on broadcast stations in most of the country via its owned and operated stations which are in virtually all of the top 20 TV markets and most of the top 75. Ion is distributed via cable, satellite and telco in the places where it does not have a station. ION's affiliate in Las Vegas in KMCC (channel 34) and Scripps' plan is to offload the Ion programming to cable and run the station as an independent television station, including the Vegas Golden Knights games.
This is a bit of a back to the future moment. Independent broadcast television stations were routinely the local distribution for MLB, NBA, and NHL games prior to the launch of regional sports networks in the 1980s and 1990s. Regional sports networks outbid local TV stations for regional sports rights in that period because of the fees that cable operators were willing to pay for the programming where greater than what the local stations could make selling advertising during those games.
Now the cable operators are looking at the costs of RSNs and frequently opting to drop them rather than renew when the contracts expire. Altitude Sports, in nearby Denver, has not been carried by Comcast, the primarily cable operator in Colorado since 2019, reportedly because of its cost. Dish Network has dropped every RSN that it used to carry and it used to carry virtually all of them.
For their entire existence, the Golden Knights have been distributed by RSN AT&T Sports Rocky Mountain, which also distributes games from the MLB Colorado Rockies and the NBA Utah Jazz. Warner Brothers Discovery, the new parent company of AT&T Sports Rocky Mountain had announced plans to shut down its handful of RSNs this year.
How the Golden Knights plan differs from the Phoenix Suns proposed plan is that KMCC is a full power television station, currently carried by all of the major MVPDs. The Suns plan put most of the games on a low power television station that was not carried by any of the major MVPDs, it would need to gain carriage -- just like an RSN would. Additionally, the coverage area of KMCC, which has two transmitters, appears to cover a lot of the Las Vegas market for those relying upon an antenna for reception.
It's unclear when Scripps' deals with the major distributors for the retransmission consent of its stations are up (they may be staggered) and what sort of fees that it will be looking to get. Unlike a stand-alone RSN negotiating on its own, Scripps has the advantage of bringing the programming from ABC to systems in Las Vegas in additional to the Golden Knights and whatever else will surround the games on the new independent station. Generally, MVPDs have come to terms for Big 4 broadcast affiliates in most markets. MVPDs fees for Big 4 network affiliated stations has gone up pretty dramatically in the last decade, after being modest for the first decade or so of retransmission consent.
However, it is unclear if MVPDs will be willing to pay the same money that they used to pay for RSNs for retransmission consent of the stations now carrying the games. It is possible that MVPDs will start to look at broadcast station retransmission consent costs the way that they now look at RSN fees -- as simply not worth it. Without regional sports, cord cutting has been at higher levels than we saw in the past. Without ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC programming, we might be looking at the demise of cable TV altogether. Ironically, the biggest losers in that case may be the companies, like Scripps, that own the Big 4 affiliates in many markets and have developed substantial revenue streams from retransmission consent fees. The cable operators can, and smaller operators often have, focused on selling Internet access service and getting out of video altogether. No cable video means no cable retransmission consent fees.
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