The Tampa Bay Lightning have entered into a multi-year media rights agreement with Scripps Sports, making it easier than ever before for fans throughout the Tampa Bay Area to watch Lightning games free of charge for the 2025-26 NHL season.
This new agreement makes The E.W. Scripps Company the Lightning’s official television home, with the rights to produce and distribute all preseason, regular season, and first-round playoff games that are not allocated exclusively to national broadcasts.
Scripps, which owns ABC Action News, the ABC local TV affiliate serving the Tampa television market, plans to launch a second full-power local station serving the Tampa-St. Petersburg television market. Petersburg area, WXPX-TV, will be the Lightning’s broadcast home. That station will be branded “The Spot – Tampa Bay 66” and launch locally on July 1, featuring news and entertainment programming and all Lightning home games.
Moving on From Bally Sports
This allows the Lightning to move on from the Diamond Sports Group, which operates the Bally Sports networks. In 2024, Diamond agreed to broadcast Lightning and other NHL games while it attempted to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The Florida Panthers made a similar move this season, with Scripps broadcasting their regional games.
The good news for Lightning fans is that Scripps Sports will produce all game broadcasts, including pre- and post-game shows and will continue to use the familiar broadcast team of Dave Randorf on play-by-play, Brian Engblom as color analyst, and Gabby Shirley reporting rinkside. Scripps Sports and the Lightning will also air co-produced original content that will give fans unique visibility into the team and players on and off the ice.
A few other NHL teams have also moved on from Bally Sports to Scripps, including media rights agreements with the Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth, and Panthers. Locally, Scripps also owns and operates WFTS ABC Action News in Tampa Bay.
What Scripps Brings to the Fan Experience
In addition to the TV broadcasts, Lightning and Scripps Sports will introduce an innovative new experience where Bolts fans can live-stream games through the Lightning app throughout the Bolts’ broadcast territory, powered by ViewLift. More details on the direct-to-consumer streaming experience will be available before the 2025-26 season starts.
Scripps utilizes ViewLift, a technology company providing digital solutions for content owners with particular expertise in live and on-demand video distribution. With proprietary cloud-based technology, ViewLift powers digital platforms for sports, media, and entertainment brands worldwide, including the NHL, 14 US top professional sports teams, LIV Golf, five Regional Sports Networks, the Professional Fighters League, and the World Racing Group.
In addition to the NHL deals, Scripps Sports currently has partnerships with the Women’s National Basketball Association, the National Women’s Soccer League, and the NCAA’s Big Sky Conference. The company is currently in discussions with cable and satellite distributors to ensure Lightning games on The Spot will be available on cable, satellite, and over-the-air television. Further information on television programming and channels for locations outside the Tampa Bay market will be made available before the start of the 2025-26 season.
After 22 years on cable, NHL games return to basic TV, where they used to air on WTOG from 1992 to 2003.
