The Thunder unveiled a local broadcast template Thursday that will put their 2026-27 non-national games on cable, satellite, direct-to-distributor, over-the-air and the NBA App — a rare hybrid approach that no other team in the league has yet to trial.<\/p>\n
Although the Thunder would not discuss their expected revenue from the five platforms, the sense is that between a minimum guarantee from Griffin Media, DTC subscription money and ad inventory entirely controlled by the franchise, the team could net a number not terribly below its 2025-26 Main Street Sports Group annual rights fee of $16.67M. But because the Thunder also have to pay their own production costs — which in most NBA cities run usually about $50,000 per game — their financial windfall from the overall deal is a variable. <\/p>\n
As of now, the five other former Main Street teams that have gone OTA — the Hawks<\/a>, Pistons<\/a>, Bucks<\/a>, Magic<\/a> and Hornets<\/a> — are expecting rights fees this season generally in the $8M range, with a sixth OTA team, the Heat<\/a>, likely earning more. The Thunder, then, become an obvious test-case.<\/p>\n \u201cAs people watch TV in 2026, particularly TV sports, they\u2019re all over the place,\u201d said Thunder VP\/Broadcasting Dan Mahoney. \u201cThey\u2019re on all the channels, they\u2019re on all the platforms, they\u2019re on cable, they\u2019re on satellite. Wherever people happen to be, it\u2019s hard to hit everybody. But we set forth to do the best we could to reach as many people as possible and meet them where they are, basically.\u201d<\/p>\n The franchise has created an ensemble of outlets it is branding as the Thunder Gameday Network. It begins with its new broadcast partner Griffin Media, which owns CBS affiliates in Oklahoma City and Tulsa (KWTV-9 and KOTV-6, respectively) and independent stations in both markets, as well (KSBI-52 and KQCW-19). Griffin has already aired a total of 17 Thunder games OTA over the past three years, and this season will air a total of 10 for free — six on KSBI and KQCW and four additional games simulcast on KWTV and KOTV. That\u2019s the OTA element of the team\u2019s network.<\/p>\n Otherwise, the team\u2019s full-season local schedule has broadcast options galore, with all the deals handled in-house. For cable, all 67 non-national Thunder games will appear on Cox\u2019s lower-tiered Contour Starter plan, which carries KSBI in Oklahoma City and KQCW in Tulsa. For satellite, all 67 non-national Thunder games will air on DirecTV and DirecTV Stream, which also carry KSBI and KQCW. <\/p>\n Industry sources said the team is prioritizing cable — rather than air their games entirely OTA — for solvent business reasons. Specifically, those sources said Griffin had a profitable retransmission fee to appear on cable and that the Thunder collaborated with Griffin to leverage a part of that for the team in order for Griffin to raise its fee structure. That turned into a crucial revenue component for the team.<\/p>\n The satellite deal was another critical addition because it allows the Thunder to penetrate rural markets in Oklahoma that have little or no access to cable. <\/p>\n For the team\u2019s markets outside of Oklahoma City and Tulsa, for instance — across the state and in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska — games will air direct-to-distributor on DirecTV\u2019s Choice Plan (Channel 675) and DirecTV Stream. For those customers, the Thunder Gameday Network will light up for those 67 non-national games, including pregame and postgame shows, and then go dark at all other times.<\/p>\n But the franchise\u2019s DTC direction is perhaps the most novel of all. Rather than go to DAZN for digital-only — which is what the Knicks, Nets<\/a>, Wizards<\/a>, Magic and Hornets will all do this season — the Thunder are launching Thunder+ through the NBA app. <\/p>\n Their Thunder+ streaming platform — which in addition to live games will feature on-demand replays and recaps — will be accessible to customers across Oklahoma and the team\u2019s five-state broadcast region for $19.99 a month or $108.99 for a season pass. Fans who sign up for the annual pass between Sept. 8 and Sept. 30 will receive the discounted rate of $99.99.<\/p>\n Industry sources said the team will retain virtually all of the Thunder+ subscription revenue — another peripheral money stream. And similar to other platforms such as Suns+, Jazz+, Pelicans+, Mavs TV and BlazerVision, Thunder+ will live on the NBA App with an NBA ID required. In other words, customers who don\u2019t have Cox Cable or DirecTV — and prefer mobile devices or smart TVs — can log into the NBA App and stream every game there. <\/p>\n