SEATTLE — The Pacific Northwest's last regional sports network took a hit on Wednesday, as the Portland Trail Blazers announced an end to its relationship with ROOT Sports immediately despite a year remaining on their contract.
This comes just a few months after the Seattle Kraken also announced they were moving on from ROOT in favor of a local television deal with KING 5, KONG, KGW in Portland and KREM in Spokane and a streaming deal with Amazon Prime Video. The Seattle Mariners now not only are the only professional team ROOT has broadcast rights for, but the organization also is the majority owner of the fledgling network.
The Trail Blazers are discussing new deals with multiple broadcast partners and will also have a "direct-to-consumer" streaming option before the start of the season, according to a source of the Portland Business Journal, KGW's news partner.
Regional sports networks were once the home for just about every MLB, NHL and NBA franchise in the U.S. and helped bring in huge amounts of revenue to those leagues. As fans have cut the cord in favor of alternative viewing platforms and moved away from cable, teams have increasingly begun reconsidering how they want to make their games available to local customers on TV.
The Kraken is not the first NHL team to break away from an RSN, as the Vegas Golden Knights and the former Arizona Coyotes found success with over-the-air free broadcasts after issues with Diamond Sports-owned RSNs. Comcast dropped ROOT Sports from its standard cable package, meaning fans had to pay an extra $18 a month if they wanted to see Mariners games outside of the occasional national offering.
ROOT Sports conducted some layoffs in the first half of 2024 due to financial constraints, The Seattle Times' Ryan Divish reported in June. Mariners owner John Stanton said the team is planning to continue to run its broadcasts independently through ROOT Sports in the 2025 season, but Divish reports that Stanton stopped short of committing fully.
Divish did report in June that ROOT's loss of the Kraken provided some "financial relief" for the Mariners, as both sides walked away without any money owed on either side reportedly. Whether the Trail Blazers' departure represents a similar relief remains to be seen.
Given the Mariners' vast broadcast territory covering five states, the team has contracts with 35 broadcast distribution partners, according to Divish. That many contracts might hinder the organization's ability to make many substantive changes with ROOT Sports.
MLB also hasn't shied away from conversation about a potential national broadcast deal in the future, although no credible reporting has suggested this would happen imminently. The league has existing rights deals with ESPN, FOX, Apple, and even Roku for some national games.
No tangible change would happen with ROOT Sports until at least the end of the Mariners' season. What appears to be setting up as a very compelling race for the division title could end up driving increased viewership of the team's games down the stretch of the regular season.
Stanton's "uncertainty" about ROOT being the home of the Mariners in 2025 means the organization is at least considering making a change. Being the owner and sole major property of a regional sports network in today's sports media climate doesn't exactly lend itself to a big profit.
Plenty could and will likely change between now and the start of the 2025 Mariners season. However, don't be too surprised if the team's first regular-season game next year is available locally on another network or streaming service.