Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network will be available in this Louisiana city soon

The Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network is coming to Lafayette.

The New Orleans Pelicans and Gray Television, the team’s partner in this new over-the-air TV venture, are in the final stages of finalizing an agreement to broadcast games in Louisiana’s fifth-most populous city.

An official announcement about Lafayette’s inclusion in the network is expected sometime next week, The Times-Picayune has learned.

The Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network went live in 13 different markets throughout the Gulf South last week. Starting with New Orleans’ game against the Houston Rockets on Tuesday, fans will be able to watch the Pelicans play for free this season as long as they can find the over-the-air TV signal the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network will be shown on in their market.

In New Orleans, that signal is 7.1. In Baton Rouge, the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network signal is 9.3

Pelicans fans who wish to stream the team’s games will have multiple options. On Tuesday, Gray announced it had struck a carriage agreement with Fubo TV.

Next week, the Pelicans will unveil their own direct-to-consumer streaming option, which will be called Pelicans Plus.

Discussions with major cable and satellite carriers to get the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network picked up there are ongoing.

Over the summer, the Pelicans successfully fought to add two markets in Alabama — Birmingham and Montgomery — to their coverage area. Those additions, along with Lafayette, means Pelicans games will be available to more than 10 million viewers in the Gulf South region.

Additionally, the Pelicans are close to adding another market in Alabama.

All but seven of the Pelicans’ 82 regular-season games will be available to watch on the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network this season.