Scripps Sports, the US local media enterprise, has confirmed a new agreement with rival Gray Media for the expanded distribution of Nashville Predators NHL ice hockey games.
Gray Media stations in six TV markets across three states will carry Predators games, expanding the range of options available for fans.
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The Predators have a five-state viewing territory of Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia that local broadcast partners can leverage.
Through the agreement, the Gray-owned stations in Tennessee (Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Jackson), Kentucky (Louisville), and Alabama (Huntsville).
Additionally, the Scripps-owned WDRB station in Louisville, Kentucky, will also air Predators games, meaning Scripps has expanded the reach of the team to seven new media stations in all.
These stations will carry 81 regular-season Predators games across the 2026-27 campaign, along with four pre-season games.
The primary distribution point for Predators games over the season remains recently branded The Spot – Nashville 28, a free channel available both over-the-air and via cable, which will also feature news and entertainment programming in addition to all locally produced Predators games when the 2026-27 NHL season starts in October.
That comes as part of the comprehensive multi-year free-to-air media rights deal agreed between Scripps and the Predators back in April.
This new deal allows Scripps to produce and distribute all local pre-season, regular-season, and first-round playoff Predators games that are not allocated exclusively to national broadcasts.
Scripps Sports will also air live 30-minute pre-game and post-game shows for every locally broadcast Predators game.
The broadcaster, which owns WTVF NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, plans to use its local station in the Middle Tennessee area, WNPX-TV, to produce games.
The franchise was forced to secure a new local rights partner after Main Street Sports Group (MSSG), the US regional sports network operator that rose from bankruptcy in 2024, ceased operations at the end of the 2025-26 season, freeing the Predators and several other NHL teams from their local media contracts.
