In a move that should resonate across the NBA, the Suns and Mercury have extended their over-the-air broadcast deal with Gray Media through 2030 and have consolidated both team\u2019s DTC apps under Gray\u2019s control through an impending Arizona\u2019s Family Sports App.<\/p>\n
The development — which builds on owner Mat Ishbia\u2019s decision three years ago to abandon a $36M RSN rights fee to increase his teams\u2019 reach — is a likely eye-opener for the NBA teams that recently exited their FanDuel Sports Network deals with Main Street Sports Group and are looking for local broadcast solutions for 2026-27. <\/p>\n
One of those franchises, the Pistons, has already signed a one-year OTA deal<\/a> with Scripps Sports. And 12 others — the Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Heat, Bucks, T-Wolves, Thunder, Magic and Spurs — are deciding between the Suns\u2019 free OTA blueprint and streaming services such as DAZN<\/a> or Victory+<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really know how it would all play out,\u201d Ishbia told SBJ when asked about his decision in 2023 to go OTA. \u201cI knew it was the right thing for the fans. So that was the first thing — just do right by the fans and good things always follow\u2026 How did it play out differently than I expected? I actually thought more teams would follow sooner.\u201d<\/p>\n The four-year extension follows a marked Suns viewership rise to 110,000 per game across the state this season — top four in the league. Since going OTA on Gray\u2019s Arizona\u2019s Family Channel 3 before the 2023-24 season, the Suns have increased their linear reach to about three million homes while the Mercury audience has grown 500%.<\/p>\n The renewal, according to Suns and Mercury CEO Josh Bartelstein, is \u201cvalidation\u201d of Ishbia\u2019s original decision to ditch his RSN — with Bartelstein admitting: \u201cThere was uncertainty because no team had done it and there\u2019s always risk in being first\u2026Many [NBA] teams have called. They call myself, they call Dan [Costello, EVP and Chief Business Officer]. They ask, \u2018What\u2019s your model? How did you think about it?\u2019 Our answer is always simple: \u2018If you put the fans first, everything else will take care of itself.\u2019 That\u2019s the bet we made.\u201d<\/p>\n The other current OTA teams are the Jazz (through Sinclair), Trail Blazers (Sinclair), Mavericks (Tegna\/Nexstar) Pelicans (Gray) and now Pistons (Scripps). But industry experts believe, out of all of them, the Suns template is maybe the most lucrative due to Gray\u2019s pervasive reach to all corners of the state.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you look at those broadcast station opportunities and models, the most advantageous scenario is when a team has a multi-station opportunity,\u201d said Craig Sloan, CEO of Playfly Sports. \u201cSo you look at the Suns, where Gray owned multiple sticks in Arizona and was able to light it up so essentially every person in Arizona can watch the Suns on free TV. That\u2019s a pretty advantageous scenario.\u201d<\/p>\n Costello told SBJ earlier this month, in fact, that the Suns were only behind the Celtics, Warriors and Knicks this season in terms of impressions. \u201cThat\u2019s pretty good company when you think about the size of our market from a TV household perspective,\u201d he said. That\u2019s one reason why the Suns are reportedly closer to recouping the $30-plus million rights fee they lost by exiting Main Street Sports Group (then-Diamond).<\/p>\n