The New Orleans Pelicans are among other professional sports teams that have said goodbye to Diamond Sports Group. Louisiana’s NBA franchise has signed a multi-year deal to broadcast 70 of its 82 regular-season games on Gray Television affiliate WVUE-TV (Fox 8/Bounce TV).
The channel, which also broadcast ten Pelicans games at the end of the 2023-24 NBA season, reaches viewers in most of Louisiana as well as Mississippi and Alabama. NOLA.com had originally reported on the deal late Tuesday.
The Pels are the first NBA team to move away from the DSG umbrella since the Phoenix Suns (and their WNBA sibling team the Mercury) left the now-defunct Bally Sports Arizona and moved to Gray affiliates in their market ahead of the 2023-24 season. (The Utah Jazz moved to free TV last season after leaving the now-shuttered AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain.) New Orleans also joins several NHL teams — Vegas, Dallas, Florida and Seattle — that have abandoned the local regional sports network model in favor of free TV, streaming or a combination of both.
The Pelicans did not respond to a request for comment.
As for the departure of Bally Sports, the Pelicans practically jumped the gun before they were forced to do so. However, they were the only major league sports team that had a full contract with Bally Sports New Orleans, which only occasionally aired Texas Rangers games and select Tulane football games, so the network didn’t seem to be around for long.
Launched in 2012 as Fox Sports New Orleans, the channel acquired the rights to the then-New Orleans Hornets games after Cox declined to renew his contract with the team. RSN previously broadcast SEC and Big 12 games, as well as a handful of NHL games involving the Dallas Stars.
According to recent Nielsen data, the Pelicans’ viewership on the regional terrestrial channel will increase by about 33,250 TV households, a 2.6x increase over Bally Sports New Orleans. However, the Pelicans could potentially reach about three million households with their network. The team will accept the inevitable reduction in rights fees in exchange for the increased reach, but NBA teams that remain with DSG can expect a reduction in their own fees of about 35% in 2024-25.
It’s possible that the Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder, three NBA teams that still have contracts with DSG, could either be kicked out or make their own moves before DSG files its final reorganization plan. (A new date for the postponed confirmation hearing has not yet been set.)
The Dallas Mavericks may also be looking for a new home, as Mark Cuban, the team’s former majority owner, has frequently hinted at changes at the broadcaster since selling the team to Miriam Adelson last season.
With support from Anthony Crupi.
