SEATTLE — Amazon Prime once appeared to be a potential lifeline for a local regional sports network (RSN) navigating reported financial challenges.
In light of Thursday's announcement that the Seattle Kraken is moving on from ROOT Sports in favor of linear broadcasts on KING 5 and KONG and local streaming being available on Prime Video, Amazon might instead end up being the opposite for the Bellevue-based sports network.
The Kraken was one of just three major professional sports teams for which ROOT had the broadcast rights, along with the Seattle Mariners and the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers. The Mariners own 100% of ROOT Sports after Warner Bros. divested its 29% stake in the network, The Seattle Times reported in December.
Amazon thrust itself into the local sports television game in January, becoming a minority investor in Diamond Sports, a regional sports operator for 37 different professional teams across the nation. The company has been amidst Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in the Southern District of Texas since it filed for protection last March. Under the terms of the restructuring agreement with Diamond's creditors, Prime Video would become the streaming home for the company's broadcasts.
The final terms of that deal are still being worked out behind the scenes, but a nine-figure investment from Amazon into local sports shows significant interest from the conglomerate in an industry that continues to contract.
The Kraken is not the first NHL team to break away from an RSN, as the Vegas Golden Knights and Arizona Coyotes (rest in peace) found success with over-the-air free broadcasts after issues with Diamond Sports-owned RSNs.
The deal for the Kraken is unique with Amazon in that any subscriber to Prime Video based in the team's territory (Washington, Oregon and Alaska) will have it included in their subscription, whereas Golden Knights and Coyotes fans had to pay extra for streaming access. It is worth mentioning that among the Kraken minority owners is Amazon CEO Andy Jassy.
So where does all of this leave the Mariners?
Mariners owner John Stanton met with ROOT staffers in December to discuss the future of the company and could not promise they all would keep their jobs, The Seattle Times' Ryan Divish reported citing sources. The Mariners continue to broadcast all of the team's non-nationally-televised games on ROOT, which should continue through at least the end of 2024.
The NBA is currently renegotiating its media rights deal, and the Trail Blazers' local contract with ROOT ends at the end of the team's 2024-25 season, Oregon Live reports. The organization is evaluating its partnership with ROOT and could explore broadcast alternatives at the end of the next NBA season, local media member Danny Marang reports.
Whether or not the Trail Blazers ultimately find a new network partner, ROOT will be hurt financially by the loss of the Kraken. The Mariners might opt to instead produce the broadcasts themselves and sell its rights to a local over-the-air partner as the Kraken did.
As the overall sports landscape continues to move further and further away from the RSN model, the Mariners owning and continuing to operate one with such a small footprint doesn't make much sense.
The Pacific Northwest's last remaining RSN might find a way to sustain with the Mariners footing the bill, but the Kraken's decision feels somewhat like the proverbial writing on the wall.
