E.W. Scripps said the Arizona Coyotes will be moving to a new home a little more than a month after the NHL team made the switch to over-the-air television.
Arizona Coyotes will be moving from Channel 15.2 (KNXV.2) to Channel 61 (KASW), the media company and NHL team confirmed in a statement on Thursday. Nexstar-owned The CW, which previously occupied the Channel 61 slot, will move to 15.2.
The Coyotes was among the many sports teams that broke away from regional sports network Bally Sports, which is still dealing with bankruptcy proceedings. Instead, it partnered with E.W. Scripps’ Scripps Sports division to bring games for free over the air. It’ll be found on Channel 61 on DIRECTV and Channel 95 on Cox Cable. Bally is still trying to salvage its business with the remains deals it has left with the NBA, as well as pending deals with some NHL teams and the MLB.
Moving to a primary channel in 61 vs. a sub-channel in 15.2 gives the Coyotes a higher profile and larger chance to be picked up by both pay-TV and live streaming services. DIRECTV had previously warned that more sports teams moving to OTA TV stations could lead to blackouts since their systems weren’t designed to pick up some subchannels.
“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 Coyotes Insider show will air on KASW and Scripps-owned ABC15 starting this Saturday and Sunday, both days airing at 10:30 p.m.
The first 17 games of the Coyotes season aired on 15.2, while KASW will air 64 of the remaining 65 games.
For cable customers outside the Phoenix metro area, here are the channels for KASW/Arizona 61 where Coyotes
games can be found:
- American Entertainment in Flagstaff (Ch. 4)
- Optimum in Flagstaff (6)
- Optimum in Bullhead City/Lake Havasu (6)
- Orbitel in Maricopa (11)
- Mediacom in Pinal County (13)
- Sparklight in Prescott (61),
Optimum in Sedona (6) - Sparklight in Show low/Winslow (61)