The Dallas Mavericks and TEGNA have agreed to a multi-year TV partnership deal, the NBA team announced Friday morning. Mavericks games not exclusively televised nationally will be free over-the-air to about 10 million Texans.
Dallas Mavericks entered into a partnership with TEGNA two weeks after the team parted ways with Bally Sports Southwest
This news comes two weeks after the Mavs mutually agreed to part ways with Bally Sports Southwest. Broadcasts will be more accessible for nearly triple the number of viewers that had access to games last season. TEGNA owns 64 TV stations across the United States.
“The most exciting part is that more fans will be able to watch our games, for free,” Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall said in the news release. “That’s been something we’ve been focused on the past couple years, fans saying they can’t watch our games.
Dallas Mavericks 🤝 TEGNA
We are excited to announce a new multi-year broadcast rights agreement. MFFLs across North Texas will now be able to watch games for FREE over-the-air‼️#MFFL pic.twitter.com/VeW78FRuxb
— Dallas Mavericks (@dallasmavs) September 6, 2024
“While we have almost 20,000 people in that arena, our fan base is in the multi-millions. We have great fans, and they want to watch us.”
Marshall described this partnership as the first of multiple phases concerning the franchise’s TV broadcast. She said the next phase is to develop and implement a streaming service.
TEGNA station KMPX in Dallas-Fort Worth (Channel 29) will broadcast at least 70 games
Although there is no timetable for starting the streaming service, she did not rule out it happening this season.
TEGNA station KMPX in Dallas-Fort Worth (Channel 29) will broadcast at least 70 games that are not exclusively scheduled to air on national TV. At least 15 of those local broadcasts will simulcast on WFAA-TV (Channel 8), which becomes the official local broadcast partner of the Mavericks.
KMPX will become a locally-programmed independent station, already owned and operated by TEGNA. The Oct. 24 season opener vs. the San Antonio Spurs will air on TNT.
This is not the Mavericks’ first partnership with TEGNA. When Diamond Sports filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last season, TEGNA stations and WFAA picked up 10 Mavs games.
Mavericks games this season will be broadcast on TEGNA stations in Abilene, Midland-Odessa, San Angelo, Tyler, and Waco
Marshall said Ronnie Fauss, the Mavericks’ senior vice president of business development, has spoken with potential streaming partners. However, the franchise is awaiting direction from the NBA.
“The second thing I’m the most excited about is that we’ll get a chance to conduct our own broadcasts,” Marshall said. “We love Bally, but the model is changing.”
Marshall said the Mavericks will eventually have their own studio as well.
In addition to Channel 29 and WFAA, Mavs games this season will be broadcast on TEGNA stations in Abilene (KXVA), Midland-Odessa (KWES), San Angelo (KIDY), Tyler (KYTX), and Waco (KCEN and KAGS).
At the moment, Spanish-language content currently airs on Channel 29. As part of this agreement, Channel 29′s Spanish content will be moved to a different channel prior to the start of the season.
WFAA and TEGNA will lead local and regional advertising and sponsorship sales for all local games
Per Friday’s news release, WFAA and TEGNA will lead local and regional advertising and sponsorship sales for all local games. In the coming days, TEGNA is expected to announce additional Texas markets for Mavericks games.
“We are looking forward to giving Dallas Mavericks fans every opportunity possible to watch our exciting team build on the momentum of its incredible run to the NBA Finals last season,” Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont stated in the news release.
“Our new agreement with TEGNA helps meaningfully deliver on that goal by broadcasting more games to more local homes than in any period in franchise history. Through our new partnership with TEGNA and our expanded relationship with WFAA, more Mavs fans than ever before will be able to watch the team they love.”
