Insiders, having read a number of questions and thoughts in the comments regarding the Kings broadcast for next season, I’d like to share the information I can at this time, while hopefully providing some timelines going forward.

No, I don’t have the exact details about the broadcast team for next season in this article, however I do have some information that should hopefully help to provide a roadmap for when the time comes and what to expect when announcements are formally made.

– First things first, the Kings will once again broadcast TV games on FanDuel Sports Network. When the renewal agreement was announced two years ago, it was described as a “multi-year” agreement and I can confirm that the 2025-26 season is included in that original contract. FDSN seems very motivated to make the most of the broadcast going forward and there seems to be some internal excitement about what it might look like heading into the season.

– I can also add that the Kings will offer two separate broadcasts next season – one on TV and one on radio. The team will move away from a simulcast model, running separate broadcasts on FanDuel Sports Network and ESPN LA.

The relationship with ESPN LA grew in the second half of last season, with separate broadcasts run from January 1 through the postseason. Expecting that structure to continue. The relationship with ESPN LA strengthened as the year went on and there were enough encouraging signs for everyone involved to agree that two separate broadcasts was the way forward. That includes additional resources from both the Kings and ESPN LA being put into the call. Included in the radio broadcast will be a pre-game show, intermission content and Kings Talk after games, on top of a radio-specific broadcast with dedicated talent. Hopefully they never actually listened to my intermission report and decide to keep that going as a regular segment!

– In terms of broadcast talent and a broadcast schedule, what I am hearing is that we’re still a bit off from that. But, as you can tell from above, the search is to fill two, separate play-by-play roles. Full local broadcast information was currently at the mercy of the national broadcast schedule, which was distributed by the NHL last week. The Kings have 14 national broadcasts this season, beginning with Opening Night on October 7 on ESPN as well as Game 2 in Vegas on TNT. The 14 games claimed by ESPN and TNT were the first step in determining which games will be broadcast on FanDuel Sports Network and/or KCAL, which comes next.

As of right now – and this could always change – I’m expecting everything to be formally announced in one shot, with broadcast talent announced alongside a full local broadcast schedule. That’ll take a bit of time though and again, it could change. The TV side was at the mercy of the national schedule and from there, it comes down to breaking down games on the two FanDuel networks, as well as local games on KCAL. On the radio side, ESPN LA has rights packages for several LA teams, so it’s a matter of games being over the air on 710 or on the ESPN LA app only.

Last season, the local announcement didn’t come out until early-October and included in that release was word of Nick Nickson’s final season. I think the plan this time around will include broadcast teams and schedule combined. I’m hopeful to be able to share some of that news sooner rather than later, sooner than last season for sure.

A couple of other pieces of intel – not necessarily new news – but things that are being worked on.

– The Kings will have a third jersey this season.

While I don’t have a ton of specifics, I am expecting the third jersey to be heavily involved in the team’s home schedule this season which I think was one issue, if you want to call it that, with the last third jersey, the ‘90s ERA ADIDAS Heritage Jersey. With it being a white jersey, it was often challenging to wear it in Los Angeles with NHL home teams typically wearing dark at home. Any time the Kings wanted to wear the old third jersey at home, it required additional conversations, approvals, ETC. That is not expected to be the case with this jersey. The Kings will largely wear this jersey at home, which is a plus.

In terms of what the jersey will look like, while I will let you draw your own conclusions, I can point out that there might just be a couple of easter eggs from when the Kings rebranded their primary logo and home/away jerseys last summer. Couple of potential teasers involved in conversations with Kings COO Kelly Cheeseman……embedding that one if you’d like to give them it listen –

Kelly Cheeseman

– Lastly, working on getting some intel into the final wave of renovations at Crypto.com Arena for the coming season.

I think many of these will come in a behind the scenes fashion, including some changes to the Kings locker room, which were delayed due to the Clippers’ final season. Those should all be set now and ready for the Kings to hit the ice at Crypto.com Arena. Last season, the Kings delayed their home opener until October 24, after playing zero preseason games at Crypto.com Arena. This fall, they will play a home preseason game and open on October 7 in DTLA, the earliest possible home opener. Working to have an article up on LAKI next week in advance of the start of training camp!