RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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With the NBA season just a couple months away, we are starting to see movement on the local television front as teams move on in the first full campaign after the RSN implosion.
NBA teams are beginning the process of trying to navigate these uncharted waters. In June, the league hired Matt Volk to head a new local media department with an eye towards building out a full centralized local streaming platform. However, until then, teams are making their own moves to prepare for the upcoming season.
And Orlando Magic are taking an over-the-air first approach for the 2026-2027 season. A report from Sports Business Journal indicates the team has struck a deal with Cox affiliates in both Orlando and Jacksonville to air all games not nationally televised in local markets. They will also have a streaming deal with DAZN, who is pursuing local rights to a number of NBA teams. That includes the Minnesota Timberwolves, who are moving in the exact opposite direction as the Magic and putting all their home telecasts on the streaming platform .
As for the Magic, they are following in the footsteps of the Charlotte Hornets who struck a similar deal this week with over-the-air broadcasts locally on Cox and streaming accessibility on DAZN.
The good news for both franchises is that the television and streaming deals should net them almost $10 million in local rights revenue with the wide majority of that coming from the over-the-air broadcasts. The bad news is it’s less than half of the $25 million the Magic made from the RSN economy last year.
Of course, that world and that lucrative setup is not making a comeback anytime soon and all of the major professional sports teams left in the dust of the RSN collapse have to do the best they can in this new era. The teams signing over-the-air deals like the Magic and Hornets will hope that reach, advertising, and hopefully growing new fans can help make up for some of the lost revenue.
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