Starting with the 2025–26 NHL season, Tampa Bay Lightning fans will have an easier (and cheaper) way to catch their team in action. The Lightning have signed a multi-year media rights agreement with Scripps Sports that ensures all non-national games – including preseason, regular season, and first-round playoff matchups – will air on free broadcast TV and be available to stream without a cable subscription.

Games will be produced and aired locally on WXPX-TV, a newly branded station called “The Spot – Tampa Bay 66,” launching July 1. This over-the-air channel will serve as the team’s official TV home and be carried on cable and satellite, pending ongoing negotiations. The station is owned by Scripps, which also operates WFTS-ABC Action News in the Tampa area.

In addition to free broadcast access, fans across the Lightning’s viewing territory will be able to stream games directly through the Lightning app thanks to a new direct-to-consumer platform powered by ViewLift. The streaming feature will roll out in time for the start of the season, with full details to come.

Scripps Sports President Brian Lawlor called the team “one of the best in the NHL,” saying, “Bolts fans deserve easy access to all their games via cable, satellite, free over-the-air and streaming.” Vinik Sports Group CEO Steve Griggs echoed the sentiment, emphasizing that the move was in response to fan demand for better access.

With similar deals already in place with the Vegas Golden Knights, Florida Panthers, and Utah Mammoth, Scripps Sports is positioning itself as a go-to partner for NHL regional coverage in the cord-cutting era.

A Brief History of the Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning, nicknamed the “Bolts,” joined the NHL as an expansion team in 1992 and quickly made a unique mark on the league. Co-founded by Hall of Famer Phil Esposito, their first home was the modest Expo Hall. the Bolts quickly gained national attention when Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game during the 1992 preseason. The team managed its first playoff appearance in 1996, highlighted by a record-setting crowd at the ThunderDome. Still, much of the 1990s and early 2000s were marked by instability both on and off the ice, with several ownership changes and a string of losing seasons.

The turnaround came in the early 2000s with the emergence of stars like Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, and Brad Richards, culminating in the franchise’s first Stanley Cup championship in 2004. The team faced further ups and downs in the following years before entering a new era of dominance. Under general managers Steve Yzerman and Julien BriseBois, the Lightning built a modern NHL powerhouse, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021 and reaching three consecutive Finals from 2020 to 2022.

Today, they are playing in the state-of-the-art Amalie Arena and backed by a passionate fan base. The Lightning are not only a Tampa Bay sports staple. They’re seen by many as a modern NHL dynasty.