Nashville Predators Enters Into Multi-Year Partnership Agreement with Law Firm
The Nashville Predators have entered into a multiyear partnership with personal injury law firm Wettermark Keith that includes naming rights to the television studio used for locally produced broadcasts of the NHL team’s road games.
The agreement comes as the Predators begin a new local television arrangement with Scripps Sports that will make games available on free, over-the-air television in the Nashville market.
Under the agreement, Wettermark Keith will receive naming rights to the studio at NewsChannel 5 in Nashville from which Predators and Scripps Sports personnel will produce road-game broadcasts. Details about the studio are expected to be announced later.
The law firm’s branding will also appear at Bridgestone Arena and through in-game elements. Wettermark Keith will become the team’s official personal injury law firm.
The financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
“We are excited to welcome Wettermark Keith to our community of partners,” Predators President and Chief Operating Officer Michelle Kennedy said. “As we enter a new era of Predators television through our partnership with Scripps, Wettermark Keith’s decision to align with us to extend their branding through naming rights on the studio will bring exceptional visibility to them.”
The television studio agreement represents another example of professional sports organizations extending naming-rights opportunities beyond arenas and stadiums to individual spaces, media properties and other assets associated with their operations.
For the Predators, the agreement coincides with a significant change in how the franchise distributes its local television broadcasts. Predators games will be available on The Spot – Nashville 28, expanding access to viewers who can receive the station over the air.
The shift reflects a broader change in regional sports broadcasting as teams and leagues explore alternatives to the regional sports network model and seek to make games available through combinations of broadcast television and streaming services.
“Nashville has been an important part of Wettermark Keith’s growth for more than 20 years,” Wettermark Keith owner and managing partner Chris Keith said. “The Predators are a large part of what makes this city special, and they share a strong connection with the people and families who call Middle Tennessee home.”
Wettermark Keith was founded in Birmingham, Alabama, in 2003 and has operations in Alabama, Tennessee and Florida. The firm handles personal injury and other claims, including automobile and trucking accidents, workplace injuries, medical malpractice and wrongful death cases.
The Predators joined the NHL in 1998 and play their home games at Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville. The franchise has reached the postseason 16 times, including a run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2017. The Predators won the Presidents’ Trophy during the 2017-18 season and have won two Central Division titles.