The Florida Panthers get new deal, cash infusion with Bally Sports deal

With the team bringing in the highest ratings ever, the Florida Panthers came into negotiations for a new television deal with Bally Sports in a good spot.

The Panthers picked a good time to have their best two seasons in their history.

On Tuesday, the team announced it agreed to a new contract with Bally Sports to continue carrying the team’s non-nationally televised games.

Steve Goldstein and Randy Moller are expected to continue in their roles as television voices of the Panthers.

Florida signed a 10-year deal with the then-Fox Sports group which reportedly paid a lot of the money up front. When the Panthers were sold to Vinnie Viola in 2013, the money stayed behind.

The Panthers, according to Sports Business Journal, are now finally going to see some local television money with the deal reportedly over $10 million per season and described as in the “high teens.”

The former contract averaged $6 million per year, but again, a lot of it was paid out before the team was sold. Per SBJ, it was one of the lowest carriage deals in professional sports.

South Florida only has the Sinclair-owned Bally Sports to negotiate with, so both the Panthers and Miami Marlins getting more money in their recent dealings with the company is a win.

If the Panthers did not reach an agreement with Sinclair — which renamed its network to Ballys in a name-rights deal — it is not known where their broadcasts could have gone.

Due to numerous cable and streaming services dropping Sinclair channels over the years, the company is planning a direct-to-consumer streaming service of its own.

The Panthers said in a statement they would be part of it.

There has been no word whether the new deal will include road pregame shows as other teams have but the Panthers have not.

The Panthers are the only South Florida pro team on Bally Sports — the Marlins and Heat are the others — without a road pregame show.

PANTHERS ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT BOSTON BRUINS

• When: Tuesday, 7 p.m.
• Where: TD Garden, Boston
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida
• Radio: WQAM 560-AM, SiriusXM
• Draft Kings odds — Florida favored: Money Line (-130); Puck line (-1.5, +175); Over/Under 6.5 (-130/+110)
• Season series — Panthers lead 1-0-1: @Florida 4, Boston 1 (Oct. 27); @Boston 3, Florida 2 SO (Oct. 30)
• 2021 regular season series: Did not play
• All-time regular season series: Boston leads 57-35-6, 6 ties