Scripps Sports has become an interesting case study in broadcast television’s ability to “bend the curve” of cord-cutting as compared to its cable television counterparts. If the last few years in the television business has taught us anything, it’s that free, over-the-air broadcast networks are more resilient to the secular decline of the pay TV bundle than cable channels.

People like free things, who knew?

That dynamic has proven to be a huge selling point for Scripps’ fledgling sports division, which boasts national media rights deals with the WNBA and NWSL, and local broadcast pacts with four NHL teams.

Declining economics in the pay TV bundle have inspired many teams across the NHL, NBA, and MLB to reevaluate ongoing deals with traditional regional sports networks. As fewer people subscribe to the bundle overall, and yet fewer upgrade to the premium tiers that most RSNs have been moved into in recent years, local game broadcasts are reaching fewer.

That’s why some teams have turned away from the RSN model entirely, instead striking agreements with local over-the-air networks to distribute their games. It’s not an easy calculation. Despite significantly lower reach, RSNs still command hefty carriage fees from distributors, which in turn allows the networks to pay sizeable rights fees to the teams.

Over-the-air networks, like those owned by Scripps, don’t come close to receiving the same carriage rate from distributors as RSNs do. The value proposition for these channels is their wide reach; anyone with an antenna can watch for free. The wider audience is then leveraged for better ad sales than the RSNs can muster up.

It’s a risky decision for any team that makes the jump, and so far it hasn’t paid off for some. MLB and NBA teams have reportedly taken substantial hits to their local TV revenues as a result of leaving RSNs for over-the-air networks. But it seems for the four NHL teams that have made the jump from RSNs onto Scripps Sports networks, the economics have worked out a bit more favorably.

Brian Lawlor, President of Scripps Sports, told Sports Business Journal that the ad rates his Scripps networks have been able to command for the four NHL teams under the company’s purview — the Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Utah Mammoth — “basically make whole” the rights fees each team gave up under the RSN model.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that NHL clubs, which naturally attract fewer viewers than MLB or NBA teams, would have a bit of an easier time recouping the comparatively lower rights fees its baseball and basketball counterparts receive. However, it’s an encouraging sign for the over-the-air model.

“It’s about telling our story and convincing people [to take] a risk, moving on from an RSN that they’ve known for so many years that was reliable,” Lawlor told SBJ. “Look, RSNs were a great business 10, 15, 20 years ago, when they reached 80% of the households. But they were successful because they had reach, and now they don’t anymore. And we have a platform that does.”

As the RSN business continues to lose steam, local station groups like Scripps have an opportunity to capitalize. Ironically, as these stations grow in importance for fans, Scripps will also have an opportunity to grow the part of its business that is currently lacking compared to RSNs: its distribution fees.

To be sure, there’s still a lot that has to play out in the local sports broadcasting space. Leagues like MLB and the NBA are looking to centralize local broadcast rights in the next few years. In that scenario, over-the-air networks would face hurdles trying to retain a piece of the pie as leagues go directly to consumers.

But broadcast television has proven resilient, and that could prove a key selling point to the leagues. If accessibility remains an important factor for local sports rights, broadcast television has a strong case for inclusion.