The Stars hoped they would become pioneers in live streaming of sporting events when they announced a partnership with A Parent Media Co. Inc. in July to broadcast their 2024-25 season games for free to fans in the respective market via the Victory+ app.
On Tuesday, another team decided to follow their path.
The Anaheim Ducks have announced a partnership with APMC, owner of Victory+, to stream all of the Ducks’ regional games for free starting this NHL season. The partnership ended the Ducks’ ties with Bally Sports, similar to how the Stars announced their split with Bally this summer.
Although the name may be misleading, Victory+ was not intended to be just a platform for the stars. APMC co-founder Neil Gruninger said The Dallas Morning News In July, Victory+ was close to adding more teams. Less than two months later, it did so.
The Stars and Ducks are the first major professional sports teams to offer free live broadcasts of their games. The platform uses advertising as its main revenue generator.
Victory+’s next step could be to look outside of hockey and form partnerships with other teams looking to break away from Bally, including the Mavericks. Diamond Sports Group, which broadcasts Bally-branded regional sports networks, is terminating its contracts with the Mavs and New Orleans Pelicans, pending approval, a league spokesperson confirmed Friday night.
The Victory+ app will be launched on September 11th.
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