Kraken Have Been Released To Free TV Next Season on KONG-6/16

While Ron Francis & Co. work this offseason to make Seattle Kraken games more worth watching, the team just made a major switch to make their games easier and less costly to watch.

Beginning next season, all non-network Kraken games will be shown on free, over-the-air (OTA) KONG-TV, channel 16 OTA and channel 6 on most cable systems.

Selected games will be simulcast on Seattle NBC affiliate KING-5. Both KING and KONG (see what they did there?) are owned by media company TEGNA, which will also air Kraken games on its stations in Portland and Spokane, with more affiliate announcements to come.

Fans Can Still Root For Kraken, But Won't ROOT

The switch to free TV means saying goodbye to regional sports network (RSN) ROOT Sports, a cable channel owned by MLB's Seattle Mariners.

“ROOT has been a terrific partner for us; we have appreciated their support as we determined our broadcast plans moving forward,” said Kraken owner Sam Holloway in a press release.

“Our goal is to increase the ways (fans) can watch our games – whether they’re cheering us on at home or on the go. I can’t wait for more fans to fall in love with Kraken hockey.”

Kraken Now In Prime Time

Holloway's "on the go" comment references the second half of today's broadcast moves, involving Seattle-based Amazon's media arm.

From the release: "Prime Video will stream all non-nationally televised games for Prime members in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. The Kraken are the first NHL team to partner directly with the streamer."

Familiar Faces Will Continue As Familiar Faces

Which ROOT Sports Kraken personalities will be making the move to their new outlets? The release mentions five by name: "John Forslund, JT Brown, Eddie Olczyk, Alison Lukan and Nick Olczyk will continue broadcasting the games next season."

This is of interest in several respects. Play-by-play voice extraordinaire Forslund has been widely linked to the open Boston Bruins TV job, with the retirement of Jack Edwards.

The release doesn't name several on-air talents who have appeared on Kraken telecasts and currently work ROOT Sports Mariners games. However, KING sports director Paul Silvi and colleagues will be new contibutors, "taking fans behind the scenes with exclusive Kraken coverage."

Why Switch TV Homes?

We explored why it makes sense for the Kraken to go the free TV and streaming route in a recent in-depth essay here . From that column:

"ROOT Sports has experienced calamitous subscriber defections, from 3.3 million in 2014 to just 1.2 million in 2024, This tracks with the nationwide decline of RSNs."

"Comcast moving ROOT to a pricier tier, which coincided with the beginning of the current NHL season, hasn't helped."

"Given the free-falling RSN numbers, it's reasonable to wonder how much more popular the Kraken could be if their games could get in front of more eyeballs. For a franchise still working to establish a beachhead on the Puget Sound sports landscape, such exposure could well compensate for the loss of subscriber dollars."

Stay tuned.