NBA’s Pelicans Latest to Leave Diamond Sports for Free TV

The New Orleans Pelicans have joined other pro sports teams in dropping Diamond Sports Group. Louisiana’s NBA franchise has signed a multiyear deal to air 70 of its 82 regular season games on Gray Television affiliate WVUE-TV (Fox 8/Bounce TV).

The station, which also broadcasted 10 Pelicans games at the end of the 2023-24 NBA season, reaches viewers throughout most of Louisiana as well as in Mississippi and Alabama. NOLA.com originally reported the deal late Tuesday.

The Pels are the first NBA team to move from the DSG umbrella since the Phoenix Suns (and WNBA sibling Mercury) left the now-defunct Bally Sports Arizona for Gray affiliates in their market prior to 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—who have abandoned the local regional sports network model for free TV, streaming or some combination of the two.

The Pelicans have not responded to a request for comment.

When it comes to leaving Bally Sports, the Pelicans effectively jumped before they were pushed. However, they were the only major league sports team fully contracted to Bally Sports New Orleans, which has only occasionally aired Texas Rangers games and select Tulane football games. So, the channel seemingly wasn’t long for this world.

Launched as Fox Sports New Orleans in 2012, the channel acquired rights to the then-New Orleans Hornets games after Cox declined to renew its agreement with the team. The RSN previously carried SEC and Big 12 games, along with a handful of Dallas Stars NHL games.

Based on recent Nielsen data, the Pelicans’ viewership will grow on the regional over-the-air channel by around 33,250 TV households, good for a 2.6x multiple versus Bally Sports New Orleans. However, the Pelicans could potentially reach around three million households with their network footprint. The team will take the inevitable haircut on rights fees in exchange for the bigger reach, yet the NBA teams that remain with DSG are looking at around a 35% reduction in their own fees in 2024-25.

It’s possible that the Memphis Grizzlies, Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder, three NBA teams still with DSG contracts, may either get the boot or make their own moves before DSG files its final re-organization plan. (A new date for the postponed confirmation hearing has yet to be determined.)

The Dallas Mavericks could also be looking for a new home as Mark Cuban, the former controlling owner of the team, has frequently alluded to network changes since selling the team to Miriam Adelson last season.

With assistance from Anthony Crupi.