Vegas Golden Knights Boost Scripps Broadcast Deal With New KnightTime Digital Platform The defending Stanley Cup champions tapped ViewLift to power the operation By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor
Monday, October 16, 2023 - 7:00 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
Nearly a week into Stanley Cup title defense, the Vegas Golden Knights are changing the way fans can watch locally broadcast games in the 2023-24 NHL season. Building off a linear broadcasting deal with Scripps Sports, the franchise has created KnightTime , a direct-to-consumer (DTC) subscription-based platform that allows users to watch live games and enjoy archival content and other team-based projects.
We've had in-direct discussions for over the last year and a half, says Kris Knief, VP, strategy and innovation, Vegas Golden Knights. It has been a fun and special summer, but, without this transition and the evolving media landscape, we wouldn't be here with KnightTime .
Gentle Nudge: Current State of RSN Business, Scripps Deal Spur Brainstorming Digital-platform developer ViewLift powers the backend of KnightTime .
During a busy time during the summer, which included celebrating the team's first championship in its six-year history, the club was at a crossroads with its broadcast partners. With the regional-sports-network sector of the industry in flux, the club decided to cut ties with its linear-broadcast provider, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain. Given the drastic change, the organization took a hard look at how to move forward. On the linear side, the Golden Knights went local and inked a deal with Scripps Sports in the middle of Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
With the current state of the RSN landscape, says Knief, it was the perfect time to go over-the-air on our local broadcaster with Scripps Sports. We probably wouldn't have this DTC product if it wasn't for the timing of [the RSN market's] evolution and Scripps Sports being as progressive as they are as a business.
Organically, KnightTime works well with the linear production on local Scripps-operated channel KMCC-34 and simulcasts on KTNV Las Vegas. Being the first NHL franchise to make the leap to local production and the second professional team (the Phoenix Suns and Mercury signed a deal with Gray TV in late April), the Golden Knights were committed to adding this DTC element to coincide with their new linear venture.
We always want to be first to market, notes Knief. While that comes with pros and cons, we believe that's how we want to approach our business model. As the market keeps shifting, more teams will follow suit.
The Leadup: Club Begins Initial Steps With ViewLift Prior to the decision of going local went public, top executives in the organization, such as Chief Legal Officer Chip Seigel, and Knief's team - including Senior Manager, Digital Strategy and Editorial Content, Gordon Weigers; and Full Stack Developer Rob Corbett - laid the groundwork behind the scenes for the new digital platform. Working with Evolution Media Capital (the club's advisor on the Scripps Sports distribution deal) and the National Hockey League, the club vetted and tested multiple live-streaming vendors. Ultimately, the team chose the expertise of ViewLift, an end-to-end digital platform developer that has worked with LIV Golf; Washington, DC-based professional teams shown on Monumental Sports Network; and more.
At ViewLift, major contributors have been Chief Experience Officer Shraddha Pednekar, Senior Project Manager James Rawsthorne, and Arul Anand Parameswaran. Based on previous work done with the league as well as an alignment on goals and aspirations, the match was a perfect fit.
We chose ViewLift based on their core values, passion, knowledge, client portfolio, technical expertise, robust comprehensive services, open-mindedness, and ability to collaborate, says Knief. They also had proactive advice from their side of the dos and don'ts since we're just getting into [DTC streaming]. We relied on them to lead us to a point where we were going to be successful across our multi-tiered partnership.
Race to Completion: Compressed Timeline Poses Creative Challenge For one of the first professional teams to tread this digital path, there's not exactly a step-by-step manual or model on how to do it. Not only did the effort include narrowing what content would be shown on the platform alongside live games, but constructing the platform from the ground up on the fly was a major challenge.
I think the lack of blueprint is always something, says Knief. When you want to have first-mover advantage, you're going to have to dictate what ends up happening. To determine what was going to be available and what this was going to become, we knew that this process was going to change every single day.
The subscription-based digital platform can be accessed at knighttimeplus.com.
In addition, the scheduling of the launch didn't give the team much time before the beginning of the preseason and regular season. Although winning the Stanley Cup is always the team's ultimate goal, the later the team played into the summer meant less time for deep discussion about KnightTime . When the Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers to take home one of the most sought-after trophies in sports, the digital team had a very small window to execute this new plan.
We needed to do product testing to make sure the quality-control process was solidified, make any changes and tweaks, and have everything approved by the various partners, says Knief. We also needed to see how our [full-game] replays would work in accordance with the Scripps Sports media-rights deal and how our VOD would play into what KnightTime ended up being.
Filling the Content Bucket: Fans Enjoy a Mix of Live, VOD Ma
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/05/2026
Zero in on one that says yes (and no)
Andy Marken May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image courtesy of Deposit Photos
For content creators the most difficu...
29/05/2026
With InfoComm 2026 just weeks away, NDI is giving attendees plenty of reasons to...
29/05/2026
Reaffirming a partnership that has defined Canadian sports broadcasting since 19...
29/05/2026
Mobile/tablet is No. 2 device for watching TV, suggesting that the sports-production industry needs to take another look at the format
Ring Digital's Sprin...
29/05/2026
Berliner Ensemble, one of Berlin's five major theater companies, has expande...
29/05/2026
Solid State Logic will showcase its new compact, fly-away TCA Tour audio product...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, passed away last month on April 12 ...
29/05/2026
Paramount+ will be the English-language U.S. home for Barclays Women's Super...
29/05/2026
Further strengthening its virtualisation strategy to fully support broadcasters ...
29/05/2026
Swiss broadcaster Canal Alpha has deployed Harmonic's award-winning, software-based XOS Advanced Media Processor to modernize playout operations across cant...
29/05/2026
PTZOptics will showcase a new generation of intelligent video workflows at InfoComm 2026, June 17-19, Las Vegas. Visitors to booth N8227 will see how PTZOptics ...
29/05/2026
Arizona's Family has launched the Arizona's Family Sports (AZFS) streaming app, a new direct-to-consumer destination for live, local sports. The app is ...
29/05/2026
Starting in 2027, DAZN will be the exclusive home of The Canadian Football Leagu...
29/05/2026
Comcast Business has detailed the advanced network infrastructure it has deploye...
29/05/2026
In two-day event, leaders from academia and industry explored solutions to chall...
29/05/2026
The Basketball Tournament (TBT), now entering their 13th year of competition, ha...
29/05/2026
Roku has launched FOX One as a Premium Subscription on The Roku Channel in the U.S. Roku customers can now subscribe to FOX One using their Roku account for liv...
29/05/2026
In its sixth year, the broadcaster's coverage has become a global brand and ...
29/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press re...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
Gerald (Jerry) Pierce, a pioneering technologist who helped shape the digital transformation of the motion picture industry, died April 12, 2026, at his home in...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Comparing 5 AI Video Enhancers for Restoring Old Video Quality
Kate Luvis May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Digitizing VHS, MiniDV, and other legacy formats doe...
29/05/2026
Studio Hamburg Builds New Post Pipeline with DaVinci Resolve Studio
Brie Clayton May 29, 2026
0 Comments
Workflow replaces a patchwork of legacy tools...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/05/2026
At the Intersection of Music and Dance, an Epic Collaboration Boston Conservatory musicians and dancers found creative parallels in their recent performance o...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
Latino Film Institute Fellows Screen Their Short Films at the Egyptian Theatre
The Inclusion Fellowship and Spark Animation Grant uplifts 15 ...
29/05/2026
GLOOKAST LAUNCHES CINNAFILM TACHYON PLUGIN FOR MEDIA PRODUCER AND MEDIA SERVICES
This release first appeared here.
Visit our Tachyon product page or contact...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Something fundamental has shifted in how people consume media. Audiences aren't abandoning television or radio content; they're just expanding how, wher...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Back to All News
The Official Trailer of Physical 100 Italy, on Netflix From Se...
Vegas Golden Knights Boost Scripps Broadcast Deal With New KnightTime Digital Platform The defending Stanley Cup champions tapped ViewLift to power the operation By Kristian Hern ndez, Senior Editor 
