AT&T Sports Networks on Tuesday released its list of deals done with distributors to carry ROOT Sports Northwest programming this coming NHL and NBA season and it is notable for its omissions.
Streaming advocates will be disappointed to see that neither YouTube TV nor Hulu has signed up to carry the regional sports network (RSN) and the Kraken and Portland Trail Blazers games it is set to broadcast. But even more surprising, at least for now, is that Direct TV and its DirectTV Stream service also have yet to sign on for the additional Kraken and Trail Blazers programming.
“We are still in discussions with DirecTV and hope they will add the Kraken and Trail Blazers to their platforms,” AT&T Sports Networks President Patrick Crumb said in an interview after Tuesday’s announcement.
What that means for thousands of local DirecTV subscribers, if no deal is reached in short order, is that anyone tuning in to Thursday’s first scheduled ROOT Sports broadcast of the Kraken — for a game in Nashville against the Predators — will instead see alternate programming.
