Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury games will be shown on free-to-air local television channels after a broadcast agreement was struck with Gray Television.
The teams’ owner Mat Ishbia announced that the NBA (Suns) and WNBA (Mercury) basketball franchises will air on Arizona’s Family television stations KTVK (Arizona’s Family TV) and the new KPHE (Arizona’s Family Sports Network), owned by Gray Television.
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Both teams had previously been broadcast on Bally Sports Arizona, but the regional sports network’s parent company Diamond Sports Group – currently undergoing a financial crisis – opted not to submit a competing offer to retain the rights.
The move to work with Gray will make the teams’ games available to consumers across the state, which it is claimed will nearly triple their previous reach.
There are also plans to launch a direct-to-consumer option to stream games.
Mercury games have been broadcast on Gray networks since the start of the WNBA season.
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By GlobalDataThe deal with Gray was initially agreed earlier this year but was then blocked by a bankruptcy court judge after DSG (undergoing bankruptcy proceedings) decided to take legal action.
The company previously argued that the departure of the Suns and Mercury would complicate its reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, which it filed for in March.
But the move now has the go-ahead after Bally Sports, which had sued to enforce a matching rights clause in the expired contract, let a Thursday (July 13) deadline pass to do so.
Ishbia said in a statement: “I am excited to be able to deliver to our Suns and Mercury fans this industry-shifting partnership with Gray Television. We’ve had an incredible offseason, making a lot of exciting moves to build the championship-caliber Suns team our fans want.
“Now, this deal gives more than 2.8 million homes across Arizona access to Suns and Mercury games for free. I am proud that we are at the forefront of this shift to make the game more accessible, which not only serves our fan base but also helps to build future NBA and WNBA fans.”
Pat LaPlatney, president and co-chief executive officer of Gray Television, added: “We’re thrilled this partnership will connect our loyal family of viewers with the Phoenix Suns and Mercury.
“In a very short window, Mat Ishbia has begun to build a world-class organization both on and off the court. Mat and Josh Bartelstein have made good on their promise to focus on the community and put their fans first.
“We are very pleased to play a part in that effort with our Phoenix, Tucson, and ultimately our Yuma stations.”
The NBA's Utah Jazz recently made a similar move and announced that games will be shown locally via the KJZZ linear TV station and via a subscription streaming service in the future.
Image: Christian Petersen/Getty Images
