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Anaheim Ducks will move local games to free TV on Fox’s KCOP

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Anaheim Ducks will move local games to free TV on Fox's KCOP

As a seasoned cinema-goer and sports enthusiast who has spent countless hours glued to my TV for live games, I find this recent move by the Anaheim Ducks to broadcast their NHL games on Fox Television Stations’ Los Angeles outlet KCOP an exciting development. Having lived in the LA area for most of my life, I can attest to the fact that KCOP has a rich history of broadcasting live sports events, and its reach across Los Angeles and Orange County is unparalleled.

In the 2025-26 season, Fox Television Stations’ Los Angeles station KCOP will air 65 games of the Anaheim Ducks hockey team on their network.

On Tuesday, the agreement unveiled is another instance of a significant sports team choosing to air their local broadcasts on a free, over-the-air television station that viewers can access with an antenna. Commencing next month, these games will also be accessible through a novel ad-supported streaming platform named Victory+.

Moving towards broadcast television indicates a worry among team owners, as they see the trend of cancelling traditional cable services (cord-cutting) and switching to online streaming platforms may be reducing the visibility of their games within local communities.

“A major goal for our organization is to link up Ducks supporters with our wider audience, ensuring that fans residing within our region can enjoy watching Ducks matches at no cost on various user-friendly platforms,” stated Ducks President Aaron Teats.

Over-the-air TV’s range significantly impacted the NBA’s choice of awarding its latest TV deals to NBCUniversal and The Walt Disney Company, both possessing broadcast stations within their assets. Notably, Amazon Prime Video was selected as the main streaming partner for the NBA.

One factor contributing to Warner Bros. Discovery’s defeat in the bidding for the new NBA contract was their reliance on cable television channels. (The company is currently taking legal action against the NBA, asserting that they had the option to match the Amazon agreement.)

100% of households within both Los Angeles and Orange County tune in to KCOP. Through Victory+, a service run by A Parent Company Inc., viewers will have the opportunity to stream content, thereby extending the team’s influence beyond Los Angeles into areas such as San Diego, Santa Barbara, and even Hawaii.

Since over two decades, the majority of Ducks games were broadcasted on the regional sports network, Bally Sports West (formerly Fox Sports West). However, the network’s parent company, Diamond Sports, declared bankruptcy in 2023.

After undergoing a restructuring, Diamond has given up several sports broadcasting contracts. This move leaves various sports teams without a local television outlet for their games.

KCOP, a station that has always been independent of major networks, boasts a rich legacy in live sports broadcasting. From 1991 to 1996, it aired games for the Los Angeles Clippers; from 2002 to 2005, it showcased matches for the Los Angeles Dodgers; and from 2006 to 2019, it broadcasted games featuring the Los Angeles Angels.

11 Plus, formerly known as KCOP, takes its name from KTTV, Fox’s historic LA station on Channel 11. Despite the change, the station remains at its long-standing position on Channel 13.

Broadcasters such as Fox Television Stations are exploring the possibility of incorporating sports programming once more into their offerings, as audiences increasingly opt for streaming services to view films, series, and comedies.

Teams choosing the free television path forgo the subscription fees they earn from pay TV providers, but they may witness a boost in alternative income streams, like stadium and arena promotional signage, which can potentially attract a larger viewership on broadcast channels.

Fox recently added a slate of New York Liberty women’s basketball games to its New York station WWOR, cashing in on the increased popularity of the WNBA.

During the previous season, KTLA, owned by Nexstar, broadcast 11 LA Clippers matches, whereas KCAL, which is owned by CBS, showed six Los Angeles Kings games.

As a passionate cinephile, I’ve noticed a strategy reminiscent of the Ducks’ being adopted by other franchises. For instance, the Las Vegas Golden Knights have their local broadcasts primarily aired on a television station owned by Scripps within that particular market.

Over the years, television viewership for the National Hockey League (NHL) has consistently lagged behind that of the other major U.S. sports leagues. However, recently, there’s been a noticeable increase in NHL ratings across the nation, and this growth has become more pronounced as other TV programming genres have experienced a decline.

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2024-08-28 01:31

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