Utah hockey fans could watch their new NHL team’s opening game — with all the hubbub surrounding it — on ESPN on Tuesday night.
But when it comes to watching the team’s future games on television, a segment of the fan base have been left out in the cold due to a dispute between the owners of Utah 16 and Comcast. E.W. Scripps, which runs Utah 16 and signed a carriage agreement with the then-Coyotes in Arizona, has not come to an agreement with Comcast in the Utah market to run the channel for cable subscribers.
“Our fans, we’re hoping they will be able to access our games,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said about the dispute ahead of Tuesday’s opener. “I am disappointed that Comcast Xfinity is declining to carry Utah 16. I’m hoping that there’ll be a groundswell of demand that will perhaps cause them to reevaluate that position — or there are other alternatives.”
“Tuesday marks a historic day in Utah, and Scripps Sports is very disappointed that Comcast has chosen not to give its subscribers access to Utah 16, the broadcast home of the Utah Hockey Club,” Scripps Sports president Brian Lawlor told Sportico. “Despite our repeated attempts to work with Comcast to provide this channel to the residents of Utah, Comcast has made it clear that broadcasting Utah Hockey Club is not a priority for them.”
There are a few pieces of good news, however, as Bettman referenced.
First, Utah 16 is available for Utahns for free over the air with an antenna (on channel 16.1), or via DirecTV, DirecTV Stream, FuboTV for paying subscribers. Second, Scripps is doing a simulcast of the Hockey Club’s second-ever game against the New York Islanders on Thursday on Fox 13 — which does run on Comcast.
Fans who live in Utah and parts of surrounding stats can also watch the games via the Smith Entertainment Group’s streaming services: a subscription to either SEG+ (for $175 per year) or Utah HC+ ($70 per year) allows fans to watch all non-nationally televised games.
An SEG spokesperson said this week that there were 2,300 SEG+ subscribers and about 4,000 Utah HC+ subscribers, a smaller initial base than the Jazz+ service with 12,500 subscribers.
