The Anaheim Ducks are the latest NHL team to move their local game broadcasts from a regional sports network to a combination of direct to consumer streaming and local broadcasts.
The Ducks announced on Tuesday that 65 games next season will be on an over-the-air channel in Los Angeles. They are also partnering on a multi-year deal with A Parent Media Co. Inc. to stream all games free of charge regionally on the Victory+ streaming service.
Anaheim's contract with Diamond Sports Group expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. Games had aired on Bally Sports West.
“The Ducks are already a significant content coordinator and have a team president with a broadcasting background,” said Jason Walsh, the chief operating officer for A Parent Media.
The Ducks are the third team this offseason to announce a change to their broadcast model. The Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers are moving their local broadcasts to Scripps Sports, while the Dallas Stars will also stream games regionally on Victory+.
“We are so pleased to announce that fans in our entire television market, via stream or traditional television (cable or over-the-air) will see locally broadcast games free of charge,” said Ducks president Aaron Teats in a statement. “It is a significant organizational priority to connect Ducks fans with our entire market and for every fan in our region to have the opportunity to watch Ducks games without cost across multiple, accessible platforms.
The over-the-air games will be on Fox 11 Plus (KCOP Channel 13).
The announcers for the broadcasts have not been announced, but it is anticipated to remain intact. Brian Hayward has been the analyst since the franchise began play in 1993, while John Ahlers has done play-by-play for 22 seasons.
The streaming app from Victory+ will be available for download on smart TVs, tablets and smartphones in September. It will allow Ducks' fans in the regional territory of Orange, Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Imperial, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties, as well as Hawaii, to watch the games. It will be offered as a free, ad-supported streaming service.
Diamond Sports Group, which distributes the networks under the Bally name, has been in bankruptcy proceedings in Texas since last March. According to filings last Friday, Diamond will carry games for eight NHL teams during the 2024-25 season, including the Los Angeles Kings.
Diamond also has agreements in Southern California with baseball's Los Angeles Angels and the NBA's Los Angeles Clippers.
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FILE - The Honda Center is seen before Game 1 of the first-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series between the Anaheim Ducks and the Dallas Stars, April 16, 2014, in Anaheim, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Sam Darnold enjoyed a valuable reset last season of a sputtering NFL career painted by the unfulfilled expectations of a quarterback from a prestigious college program drafted third overall.
It was a burden-free year with the San Francisco 49ers to be the backup while continuing to learn the league, his position and himself. The Minnesota Vikings enjoyed an immediate benefit from this new version of Darnold in a dominant season-opening performance.
He's aiming to use those off-the-field gains against the 49ers this week. Darnold's home debut for the Vikings will come on Sunday afternoon, with his former team paying a visit.
“I learned so much last year,” Darnold said. “Just being able to learn every single game plan and study throughout the week, I think that was the biggest takeaway that I had, with all the different things that we had to know as quarterbacks going into a game."
After going 13-25 as the starter for the New York Jets over his first three NFL seasons, Darnold was traded to the Carolina Panthers in 2021. He only found further instability around him, leading to more injuries and more interceptions.
Last year, he put his starting aspiration on hold to join the well-oiled operation under 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan — and supported Brock Purdy all the way to the Super Bowl.
“He helped me tremendously with my prep and we all bounced ideas off each other and what we could get and what we need to be aware of,” Purdy said. “Sam contributed so much to our success as a team, man.”
Darnold had his own enlightenment about the pressure — both real and imagined — he experienced in New York when he entered the league in 2018 from USC.
“When you’re at quarterback, I feel like a lot of times you can feel everything kind of collapsing on you, not just in the game, but theoretically, like, as a whole,” Darnold said. “If things aren’t going your way, you can feel the weight of the world a little bit. At the end of the day, it’s your job to just put the ball in your playmakers' hands and let them go run and make a play.
"I think it’s as simple as that sometimes.”
With the Vikings, Darnold's bridge assignment was cemented as a full-season gig when J.J. McCarthy suffered a season-ending knee injury last month.
“I was hoping he’d find no good spots and come back here,” Shanahan said. "But I was happy for him he got this opportunity because Sam more than deserves it. Sam is a starting quarterback in this league and he should run with it.”
The arm strength and processing speed were never in question, but coach Kevin O'Connell and the rest of the coaches and players have been impressed by how naturally Darnold has taken to the complex scheme, improved his footwork and fit in with a new team.
“If you give Sam some time in the drop-back game, just throwing the ball, he’s going to make the right read and throw a nice ball,” Vikings running back Aaron Jones said. “He’s really slept on, so we’re glad to have him. At the end of the season, we’ll look up and there’ll be a lot people talking about him.”
Darnold was 19 of 24 for 208 yards, two touchdowns, one sack and one interception against the New York Giants. The 44-yard pass to Justin Jefferson he threaded along the sideline during a 99-yard drive was a prime example of the confidence he has in his new surroundings.
“I was double-covered on that play,” Jefferson said. “Him throwing it to that spot and me going to get it, that is going to happen a majority of the time during the season. He has to understand that even when I am double-teamed, I’m still open and that I am going to make a play.”
The 49ers didn’t miss a beat with All-Pro running back Christian McCaffrey sidelined for the opener because of a sore calf muscle and Achilles tendon, with backup Jordan Mason rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown against the Jets.
His 28 carries were the most by a 49ers player since Frank Gore had 31 on Oct. 30, 2011, and he also broke a league-best 13 tackles, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
McCaffrey is out again this week but the Niners are plenty confident that Mason can handle the load.
“He’s a dense, sturdy guy and he just runs downhill very physically,” All-Pro tight end George Kittle said. “Hopefully he can just keep doing that and there’ll be a very good substitute for Christian so we don’t have to play Christian for 100 snaps a game.”
Jones will also make his home debut for the Vikings after seven seasons with their fiercest rival the Green Bay Packers. He’s eager to join the U.S. Bank Stadium crowd in the ritual “Skol!” chant that’s accompanied by a rhythmic over-the-head clap that builds to a frenzy.
“When you’re on the other sideline, you’re trying not to clap, you’re trying not to get into it, because you see the whole stadium doing it and it’s contagious,” said Jones, who rushed 14 times for 94 yards last week. “I’m really amped to just come out there and play in front of the fans.”
San Francisco kicker Jake Moody enjoyed a superb start to his second season by tying a franchise record with six field goals made last week, including two from at least 50 yards.
The 2023 third-round draft pick had a spotty rookie year, including a potential winning field goal he missed against Cleveland and an extra point he had blocked in the Super Bowl against Kansas City.
“Every time that he got more eyes on him and people were waiting for him to fail, he always rebounded and got through that,” Shanahan said. “When you do that, you build true confidence and you get stronger through adversity.”
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San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan speaks at a news conference after an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy looks to pass the ball against the New York Jets during the first half of an NFL football game in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy, center, gestures toward fans after an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Santa Clara, Calif., Monday, Sept. 9, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold (14) celebrates after a 21-yard touchdown catch by teammate wide receiver Jalen Nailor (83) during the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold answers questions during a press conference after an NFL football game against the New York Giants, Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)
