The NBA teams whose games formerly aired on FanDuel Sports Network continue to piece together new rights packages.
The NBA Hornets have reached a deal with Cox Media Group to carry their locally produced games on Charlotte ABC affiliate WSOC and independent affiliate WAXN (TV64) during the upcoming NBA season, it was announced Wednesday, making them the fifth NBA team this offseason to reach a deal with an over-the-air affiliate. The deal is for one year, per Tom Friend of Sports Business Journal, who also reported that the Hornets are expected to sign a separate streaming agreement with DAZN.
Per Friend, the Magic also struck a yet-to-be-announced deal Wednesday with Cox Media Group stations in Orlando and Jacksonville, and are expected to add a streaming deal with DAZN.
The Hornets and Magic are among the 13 NBA teams whose games aired on the FanDuel Sports Network RSNs last season and are now in need of new homes after the networks’ operator Main Street Sports Group began winding down its operations in the spring.
They would be the first of those teams to pursue the hybrid ‘beam and stream’ model — pairing broadcast television and streaming — that had become en vogue as the RSN model began to collapse in this decade. The Pistons, Hawks, Heat and Bucks have struck deals that are exclusive to over-the-air television, and the Timberwolves reached a streaming-exclusive deal with DAZN.
Of the remaining six teams, four are expected to strike deals with DAZN (the Cavaliers, Pacers, Spurs and Grizzlies), and two are expected to “lean into the OTA model” (the Thunder and Clippers), according to Friend.
Between its exclusive and non-exclusive deals, including an agreement with YES Network and MSG Network in New York to stream all games on those respective RSNs, DAZN could have streaming rights to at least nine NBA teams next season — the Hornets, Magic, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Pacers, Spurs, Grizzlies, Knicks and Nets. The London-based streamer had been mentioned as a potential buyer of Main Street Sports Group late last year, but eventually transitioned into pursuing its own deals with teams.
