New Penguins TV Deal, FSG Taking Over AT&T SportsNet

The uncertainty surrounding Pittsburgh Penguins TV broadcasts for the coming season appears to have been removed.

Fenway Sports Group, which owns the team, has reached an agreement with Warner Bros. Discover Sports to take over AT&T SportsNet after the conclusion of the current major-league baseball season, according to a report from the Sports Business Journal.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now has confirmed the deal is being finalized.

Details of the deal were not disclosed, but it assures that Penguins games will continue to be available on “traditional” television.

FSG, which also owns the Boston Red Sox, already operates NESN, a regional sports network in New England. The Sports Business Journal story suggested that FSG is expected to launch a direct-to-consumer service for the Penguins, similar to one the Red Sox have had since last year, but did not offer confirmation that that will happen.

The SBJ story said it is unclear what will happen with the TV rights to the Pirates, whose games also appear on AT&T SportsNet, but noted that the team could turn over its broadcast rights to Major League Baseball, which then would handle issues like how and where the games are distributed.

MLB already is doing that for its teams in Arizona and San Diego.

Working out a deal with FSG to stay on the same regional sports network as the Penguins also is a possibility for the Pirates.