Kraken fans got a jolt from Comcast-owned Xfinity on the eve of the team’s season opener Tuesday night, with the cable provider telling them in an email the cost of watching the NHL squad on ROOT Sports Northwest would rise significantly. The move, announced by Xfinity in a Tuesday afternoon email to subscribers, is the latest surprise in an ongoing clash playing out nationwide between RSN properties such as ROOT Sports NW and the providers that distribute their broadcast content. Xfinity is the largest distributor of ROOT Sports NW in the immediate Seattle area — with just fewer than half the network’s viewers in that geographical region. Dish Network and DirecTv customers have also seen Root Sports clash with their TV subscriptions.
