Golden Knights having ongoing talks for TV, radio deals
The Golden Knights’ pursuit of a television and radio home is picking up steam after the team spent last week talking to local radio stations and regional television networks.
The Knights spoke with Fox Sports West and Prime Ticket about finding a spot for the team come October. Both regional networks already have NHL teams as part of their inventory — FSW with the Los Angeles Kings and Prime Ticket with the Anaheim Ducks. The team hired an outside media group, EMC, to identify possible networks to televise the games.
On the radio side, the team has had discussions with Lotus Broadcasting, which has three sports talk stations as well as a Spanish language station. The Knights also have talked to Beasley Broadcasting, which owns KDWN-A (720) and has a 50,000-watt clear channel signal that can be heard in several Western states.
“We had a good meeting and we believe we have what they’re looking for,” said Tony Bonnici, vicepresident and general manager for Lotus Broadcasting. “Not only do we have the team to support it but we have the audience they’re looking for. We can cross promote with our music stations as well as our sports stations.
“That said, they have their needs and they want to see what group can accommodate those needs.”
The team does not want its broadcasts pre-empted and also wants to connect with the Latino community. Bonnici believes Lotus has the flexibility to comply with the team’s wishes.
“We would be able to move things around and not pre-empt their broadcast,” Bonnici said.
Nehme E. Abouzeid, the Knights’ vice president for business operations said the initial meetings went well, both for radio and TV.
“We were very encouraged by the meetings,” he said. “The proposals we received were impressive and there were a lot of good things. We hope to get everything finalized within the next 30-60 days.”
ALL-STAR CONTEST
The Knights won’t be participating in the upcoming All-Star Weekend festivities, but they plan to send a fan representative to Los Angeles to experience the event scheduled Jan. 27 to 29 at Staples Center.
The winner will receive airfare, hotel accommodations and tickets to the skills competition and the All-Star Game.
To enter, go to vegasgoldenknights.com/ASG. The contest is free and entries are limited to one per person with the deadline to enter at noon Jan. 20. The team will notify the winner.
NHL PAY DAY
Majority owner Bill Foley said Friday he will make the second of three payments of his $500 million expansion fee to the NHL on Tuesday.
The third and final payment is due in April but Foley has moved it up to the first week of March to allow general manager George McPhee to attend the GMs meeting in Boca Raton, Florida, from March 6 to 8.
The early payment also lets the Knights participate in college free agency.
Any undrafted NCAA player who has completed his college season can sign with an NHL team.
“We’re getting closer,” Foley said. “We’ll have everything paid by the beginning of March as we planned so George can go to the meetings.”
Contact Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913. Follow @stevecarprj on Twitter.
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