The Phoenix Suns and Mercury announced a new media rights deal with Gray Television, Inc. and Kiswe to deliver 100% of each team’s locally broadcast games via over-the-air television and streaming. Under the new deal, the Suns and Mercury games will be available to nearly 2.8 million households in Arizona, more than tripling the current number of homes the Suns and Mercury can reach. In the age of RSNs, this is an unprecedented partnership to return to over-the-air broadcasts and introduce a new direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming option to reach every family in Arizona, with or without a pay TV subscription.
The partnership with Gray Television, which includes KTVK (Arizona’s Family 3TV), KPHO (Arizona’s Family CBS5), the statewide KPHE (AZ Family Sports Network) which will serve the Phoenix, Tucson and Yuma media markets, as well as Kiswe, the interactive video company, gives the Suns and Mercury the ability to super-serve both fans, partners, and the community. This deal comes as part of a significant organizational priority to connect the Suns and Mercury with the diverse communities of Arizona statewide.
“I’ve said from day one that our focus is our fans, our community, and every member of our organization and this deal checks every box,” Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury Governor Mat Ishbia said. “By going entirely over the air and building our own DTC product, the Suns and Mercury will now be accessible to millions more fans in Arizona and globally. Success comes from new and innovative ways to invest in our players, continue our mission to build a world class organization on and off the floor, and make our product available to as many people as possible.”
The community and business impacts of the deal are significant, offering increased reach for corporate partners and enhanced value of courtside signage, television assets, and team content by removing the need for a paid television package and the costs associated with such a package as a barrier to entry.
With Kiswe, fans can access all Suns and Mercury games through a DTC streaming option alongside the over-the-air broadcast product. Subscribers will be able to access the DTC streaming through a Suns or Mercury branded app on their smartphones or Smart TVs, with Mercury’s DTC streaming available for free this season.
“Cord cutters, cable subscribers, fans with an antenna – everyone will be able to watch Suns and Mercury games on Arizona’s Family,” added Ishbia. “Coupling that with a partnership with an industry leader like Kiswe to provide an innovative digital streaming solution allows us to transform the way fans watch our games, giving them more options and access than they’ve ever had.”
The Suns and Mercury will have all non-national exclusive games broadcast between KTVK and KPHE. The Suns will have a minimum of 70 games broadcast, with at least 40 regular-season games on KTVK and the remaining on KPHE. The Suns’ deal spans up to five years, while the Mercury’s is a two-year agreement.
The complete 2023 Phoenix Mercury broadcast schedule will be released in the coming weeks.
The new media rights agreement is subject to the approval of the NBA and WNBA and any required resolution with the incumbent regional sports partner.
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