Live Arizona Coyotes games are on the move again, but this move is far less earth-shattering than the shift from Bally Sports Arizona earlier this year.
Per a Thursday release, Coyotes games will now air on KASW, currently a CW affiliate transitioning into an independent network owned by Scripps.
The first game airing on KASW is Monday’s home game with the Los Angeles Kings.
In October, the Coyotes agreed to move on from the Diamond Sports Group and Bally Sports Arizona. The team agreed to a carriage deal with Scripps Sports, bringing games to Channel 15.2, the Antenna TV affiliate of Scripps-owned KNXV.
The games are now shifting over to KASW, also owned by Scripps. The network currently serves as a CW affiliate, but will transition into an independent network featuring “local news and entertainment and national news from Scripps News.” 15.2, the outgoing Coyotes home, will become CWArizona, featuring content from both The CW and Antenna TV.
The Coyotes seem pleased with the switch.
“We are so excited to be able to reach more fans than ever before. This is a continued step in the direction of super serving Coyotes Hockey here in the desert, the best fans in the world,” said Coyotes Chairman and Governor Alex Meruelo. “We couldn’t be happier to be working together with a great partner like Scripps Sports and continue showing our commitment to make hockey thrive in the desert.”
The first two games following the shift, Monday with the Kings and Wednesday against the Blues, will air (along with shoulder programming) on both KASW and 15.2.
Given the reported success of Coyotes games on 15.2 (Scripps announced a 900% increase in the team’s local ratings during its November earnings call), shifting to a network that’s easier to watch makes plenty of sense for both the team and Scripps.
