The Seattle Kraken have announced a new broadcast deal for the upcoming season, moving away from regional cable broadcaster ROOT Sports. The innovative new deal will bring Kraken games to Amazon Prime Video and Tegna stations KING 5 and KONG in the Seattle area. KING 5 and KONG will broadcast all non-nationally televised Kraken games for free over the air, while Prime Video will stream these games for Prime members in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. This makes the Kraken the first NHL team to have Prime Video as a direct streaming partner.
Amazon’s involvement with the Seattle Kraken goes beyond just broadcasting games. The tech giant bought naming rights to the team’s home arena, Climate Pledge Arena, back in 2020. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is part of the team’s ownership group, and the company’s technology is utilized throughout the arena. Amazon has also been making moves to secure streaming rights for sports broadcasts, including deals with the NFL for Thursday Night Football games and with NASCAR to stream select races beginning in 2025.
Prime subscribers in the Pacific Northwest who pay for Prime’s premium sports package will now have access to watch Seattle Kraken games on Prime Video. The decision to bring Kraken games to Amazon’s streaming service was made to provide additional value for Prime members in the team’s home footprint of Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. KING 5, an NBC affiliate, will be the official television partner for the Kraken, with a team of broadcasters that includes John Forslund, JT Brown, Eddie Olczyk, Alison Lukan, and Nick Olczyk. Tegna’s KONG will broadcast all non-nationally televised games, and games will also be simulcast on KING 5.
The move to broadcast Kraken games on free over-the-air channels like KING 5 and KONG is also aimed at reaching a wider audience and expanding the team’s fan base. Other teams in the NHL, such as the Arizona Coyotes and Las Vegas Golden Knights, have also made similar moves to broadcast games over the air in order to attract more viewers. ROOT Sports will continue to be the home for Seattle Mariners baseball games, while the new broadcast deals for the Kraken signal a new era in how sports fans can access and watch their favorite teams play. This shift to digital streaming platforms like Prime Video represents a growing trend in how live sports are being consumed by fans.
