Florida Panthers fans in South Florida lost access to Tuesday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators on Comcast after a contract dispute forced the cable company to drop Scripps TV stations. The blackout affected Panthers viewers in Miami-Dade, Broward, and West Palm Beach, leaving many without a live TV option on their usual provider.
The team said the game remained available through over-the-air broadcast, other cable and satellite services, and the Panthers Plus app. The disruption came after Comcast removed Scripps-owned channels from its lineup, which included the local stations carrying Panthers games.
What happened on Comcast
The outage began when Comcast and Scripps failed to reach an agreement in their carriage talks. As a result, viewers who depend on Comcast in the affected South Florida counties could not watch the Panthers-Senators matchup on the stations that normally air the team’s local broadcasts.
The Panthers responded with a public statement posted on social media shortly after puck drop. The team told fans that the game “will not be broadcast on Comcast” in the impacted markets and urged anyone facing the blackout to call Comcast and ask for the team’s programming to be restored.
Where Panthers games can still be watched
The team said local broadcasts remain available through several alternative outlets. Fans in the affected areas can still find Panthers games through antenna reception, other pay-TV providers, satellite service, and the Panthers Plus app.
- Over the air in South Florida markets
- Through other cable providers
- Through satellite TV services
- On the Panthers Plus app
How the Panthers’ local TV setup changed
The Panthers shifted their local television package to Scripps Sports ahead of the current season after previously airing games on Bally Sports Florida. In Miami-Dade and Broward counties, the team’s games now air on WSFL-Channel 39.
Additional Panthers television affiliates include WHDT-9 in Palm Beach and the Treasure Coast, along with WFTX-Channel 36.3 in Fort Myers and Naples. That wider setup gives the club multiple local broadcast points, but the Comcast dispute still cut off access for many viewers in South Florida.
Why the blackout matters for fans
Local NHL broadcasts often depend on cable carriage deals, so even a single contract dispute can quickly affect access for thousands of households. For Panthers fans, the issue matters because it interrupts a primary way to follow the team during a regular-season game, especially for viewers who have not moved to streaming or antenna-based viewing.
The team’s warning also reflects a growing problem in sports media, where rights shifts and provider disputes increasingly decide whether fans can watch games without interruption. In this case, the impact was immediate: some South Florida Comcast customers were left searching for alternate ways to see the Panthers at a critical point in the season.
Read more at: sports.yahoo.com
