How to Watch the Florida Panthers This Season — Starting Tonight

The Florida Panthers will be back on the airwaves tonight for the first time since getting out of their contract with Bally Sports this summer. So, how do you watch them?

It is easier to watch the team what with their new deal with Scripps Sports — which puts the team on three over-the-air channels throughout South Florida — although it is still a little complicated as most new things are.

So, let’s get to how you can watch the Florida Panthers all season long.

First off, tonight’s preseason game between the Panthers and host Carolina Hurricanes will be broadcast from Raleigh by Scripps Sports with Steve Goldstein and Randy Moller on the call just as nature intended.

The game, which starts at 6, will be on all of the Panthers viewing platforms: Traditional over-the-air television, cable/satellite, and streaming.

Here is how to watch the Florida Panthers:

Regular Old-School Television

There are three channels which will carry the Florida Panthers on Scripps-owned stations in the Miami/Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Naples/Fort Myers markets.

In Miami/Fort Lauderdale, tune into WSFL-39; the West Palm Beach area (Boca Raton north to the Vero Beach area) will be served by WHDT-9; Digital channel 36.3 will carry games in the Naples/Fort Myers market.

Most cable and satellite providers — as well as some streaming outlets — carry 39 and 9.

Do you have cable or satellite?

Check the graphics provided by the Panthers below to see which providers in your area carry these channels and what channels they are on.

And, although Channel 39 is carried by DirecTV satellite service, it is not currently on DirecTV streaming.

Word is, it will be soon.

In Naples/Fort Myers, 36.3 is a digital channel which is not widely carried and airs reruns of shows such as Home Improvement, That 70s Show, and According to Jim.

Xfinity is currently the only cable outlet to carry 36.3 in Naples/Fort Myers.

For viewers on the Florida Gulf Coast, an antenna may be the only way to pick up Panthers games without subscribing to the Panthers+ streaming service (more on that below).

Fans who do not have cable — or their satellite/streaming platforms do not carry 39/9/36.3 — can purchase an inexpensive digital antenna from the likes of Walmart, Target, or Amazon, which attaches to the back of a television and pull in signals from all over the area.

These are not your grandparents’ rabbit ears.

Digital antennas come in different sizes. Some are as thin as a manilla folder and placed near a window; some are the size of a bobblehead and placed on a table or windowsill. All are attached to the back of a television with a coaxial cable which is included.

• Here is a primer on digital antennas from CNET

These new antenna are good for those who stream their entertainment as they come in quite handy to get traditional television — and to watch football on network channels — when your internet goes out.

Local Streaming With Panthers+

For the first time, the Panthers are offering an all-inclusive streaming service called Panthers+ which will show all 70 games produced locally by Scripps — including the first-round of the playoffs.

Games on national outlets such as TNT, ESPN and ABC — there are 12 of them — will not be streamed on Panthers+.

Only fans who reside in the South Florida viewing territory (you can find out if you are included with the team’s zip code finder HERE) will be able to view games on this app.

Once the app is downloaded, games can be watched on phones, tablets and smart TVs.

Panthers+ will carry four preseason games — starting with tonight’s game at Carolina — for free.

Scripps Preseason TV/Streaming Schedule

• Friday at Carolina Hurricanes, 6 p.m.
• Saturday v. Carolina Hurricanes, 6 p.m.
• Monday v. Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.
• Oct. 2 at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m.

Once the regular season starts, an annual $69.99 fee would be required to view games on the app.

Behind-the-scene videos, interviews, special programming and the like will remain free on the Panthers+ app.

Only those who pay for a subscription can access live and recorded games.

Panthers+ can be found at PanthersPlus.tv as well as IOS, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and Roku.

The team says Android, Samsung TV, and LG TV will be available in the coming weeks.

For those who are complaining that they were able to stream games on Bally Sports for free in the past, well, that is not completely true.

Previously, one could stream Bally games on their app for no extra cost — if you signed in with a television provider. Which means you were paying for a provider which theoretically charged extra for Bally Sports. That also means you were paying to stream the games.

Fans Who Live Outside of South Florida

For those who live north of the Florida Panthers viewing area, nothing changes in how you watch the team.

ESPN+ is a streaming service which, for the past two seasons, has carried all out-of-market NHL games.

Including the Panthers.

So, if you live in Gainesville — or Atlanta, Duluth, Las Vegas, New York, Boise, etc. — the 70 locally-produced games with Goldstein and Moller on the call will be streamed by ESPN+ just like before.

If you live in South Florida — or in a zip code that is considered inside the Panthers’ broadcast footprint — ESPN+ will black out the local Florida Panthers broadcast.

For that, you need to subscribe to Panthers+ — or watch on your television.

National Telecasts NOT on Scripps/Panthers+

There will be 12 games this season which will not be broadcast locally because they were picked up as national exclusives and will be aired on TNT, ABC and ESPN — or exclusively streamed on ESPN+/Hulu.

These games will not be available on Chs. 39/9/36.3 nor on the Panthers+ app.

For these 12 games, you would have to tune in either to the channel indicated. TNT games are NOT on ESPN+.

Florida’s season-opener on Oct. 8 against the Boston Bruins, for instance, will only be able to be viewed on ESPN.

The game against New Jersey on Nov. 12 will only be available on ESPN+/Hulu.

If you need to know where the Panthers game will be televised — or, those ESPN+ exclusive streams — check out Florida Hockey Now.

Every story on FHN has ‘Panthers On Deck’ near the bottom of stories which include all broadcasting information (as can be seen below).

Hope this helps.

PANTHERS (PRESEASON) ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS (2-1) at CAROLINA HURRICANES (1-0)

• When: Friday, 6 p.m.
• Where: Lenovo Center; Raleigh, N.C.
• TV: Scripps TV — WSFL 39 (Miami/Fort Lauderdale); WHDT 9 (West Palm); LAFF 36.3 (Naples/Fort Myers)
• Streaming: Panthers+; ESPN+
• Radio: None
• Last Season (Carolina Won 2-1) — At Florida: Panthers 5, Hurricanes 2 (Nov.10). At Carolina: Hurricanes 1, Panthers 0 (Feb. 22); Hurricanes 4, Panthers 0 (March 14).
• All-Time Regular Season Series: Carolina/Hartford leads 73-47-10, 11 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Saturday vs. Carolina Hurricanes, 6 p.m.

More FHN Coverage of the Stanley Cup Champion Panthers:

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KEY DATES FOR THE FLORIDA PANTHERS

• Training Camp, Fort Lauderdale IcePlex: Opened Thursday
• Florida Panthers Preseason: Sunday-Oct. 5
• Florida Panthers Ring Ceremony, Sunrise: Monday, Oct. 7
• Florida Panthers Opening Night/Banner Unveiling: Tuesday, Oct. 8 vs. Bruins (ESPN)