Kraken Fans Just Got A Much Easier Way To Watch This Season

Deck: The Seattle Kraken's expansive new broadcast plan promises greater access to games across the Pacific Northwest for the 2026-27 season.

Seattle Kraken fans will have plenty of ways to keep up with the team in 2026-27, with the club unveiling a regional broadcast plan that puts 77 regular-season games on the air across Washington, Alaska, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.

The schedule starts right away on Oct. 1, when Seattle opens the season on the road against the Calgary Flames. From there, the Kraken Hockey Network will handle every game not picked up nationally, giving viewers a broad mix of local TV and Prime Video options throughout the year.

In the Seattle market, KONG will air 59 games exclusively. Another 18 will be shown on both KONG and KING 5. Beyond the local area, fans will also be able to find Kraken broadcasts on participating TEGNA, Gray Media, Cox Media and Morgan Murphy Media stations throughout the five-state region.

That means a number of free over-the-air choices for fans outside Seattle as well. TEGNA outlets KGW in Portland, KREM and KSKN in Spokane, and KTVB in Boise are part of the lineup, along with KAPP and KVEW for viewers in Yakima and the Tri-Cities.

The on-air crew will look mostly the same, too. John Forslund returns on play-by-play, with former NHL forward JT Brown alongside him as the analyst. Piper Shaw is back rinkside, where she’ll handle interviews with players and coaches during the broadcasts.

The pregame, intermission and postgame coverage will again be led by Ian Furness, with Alison Lukan providing analysis. Former NHL defenseman Brett Festerling will also be part of the mix for most games.

On the audio side, fans can stay with the iHeart Kraken Audio Network on KJR. Everett Fitzhugh will call the action, Al Kinisky will provide analysis, and Mike Benton will host pregame and postgame programming.

KING 5 will also keep its weekly 30-minute “Kraken Home Ice” show on the schedule, with Paul Silvi hosting. The program will continue to feature interviews and deeper stories involving Kraken players, coaches and team management.

Seven games will air nationally on ESPN and TNT, while the rest of the Kraken’s schedule will be carried through the team’s regional broadcast setup.

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