Two years after being the first NBA team to abandon its struggling regional television network partner, the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury are celebrating a proof of concept with a new local media rights deal that has virtually replaced the revenue.
The Suns and Mercury have agreed to a two-year extension with Gray Media to broadcast their games free over the air across Arizona through the 2027-28 season. The deal is worth more than $30 million per season, sources familiar with the matter told ESPN, restoring the money they left on the table when walking away from a long-standing partnership with then bankrupt Diamond Sports in 2023.
The lucrative new contract was driven by the Suns' local ratings more than doubling and the Mercury, in addition to a broader increase in WNBA ratings, seeing their audience grow by 425%.
"It's been a win-win," Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia told ESPN. "It was do right by the fans and get the games more accessible. And when you grow your fanbase, good things happen."
At the time it was an aggressive and unorthodox move and Diamond Sports sued the team for breach of contract. The lawsuit was eventually settled and the Suns moved forward producing their own broadcasts and putting them over the air, running promotions to give away free television antennas to fans. They also launched a streaming service for their games called Suns+.
A handful of other NBA teams dealing with regional sports network (RSN) issues followed Phoenix in putting their games on over-the-air local stations for free including the Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans.
Faltering RSNs as a result of cord cutting is one of the biggest financial headwinds the NBA is currently facing. While a new 11-year, $77 billion national media rights deal is starting this season that ensures revenue growth, reductions in local TV revenue resulted in the league slightly lowering its previously projected salary cap numbers for this season.
NBA teams are due to receive about $145 million each from rights deals this upcoming season, sources told ESPN, but some teams are dealing with reductions from their local TV deals. For example, earlier this year the New York Knicks agreed to reduce their local TV deal by $41 million for the 2025-26 season as part of a restructuring plan with MSG Networks as reported by Sportico. The Knicks are now expecting to receive about $107 million, down from the previously agreed $148 million.
Ishbia said he has been in touch with several fellow owners who are exploring how to handle the changing market conditions and hopes the Suns and Mercury's early success can continue.
Over the next two years, 18 teams will have their RSN deals expire, and the NBA is looking for ways to create options both over the air and on streaming platforms.
"Everyone wanted to wait and see, it's a big thing to take less [local television] money or even no money and trust it," Ishbia said. "Hopefully it can be a blueprint for other NBA teams. You do right by the customer and good things tend to happen."