Gray Media on Tuesday announced the formation of a new regional sports broadcast network that will offer games from the New Orleans Pelicans professional basketball team on free broadcast television.
The Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network will reach more than 4 million homes in parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, anchored by Gray’s Fox affiliate in New Orleans, WVUE (Channel 8).
All non-nationally televised Pelicans games will air on the sports network, Gray said in a statement. Other broadcast outlets that will carry the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network are:
- KCWL (Channel 24.1) in Monroe, Louisiana
- KGCH (Channel 32.1) in Lake Charles, Louisiana
- KLGC (Channel 25.2) in Alexandria, Louisiana
- KSLA (Channel 12.2) in Shreveport, Louisiana
- WAFB (Channel 9.3) in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
- WALA (Channel 10.5) in Mobile, Alabama
- WLBT (Channel 3.3) in Jackson, Mississippi
- WLHA (Channel 18.2) in Hattiesburg, Mississippi
- WOOK (Channel 15.5) in Mobile, Alabama
- WTBL (Channel 51.3) in Biloxi, Mississippi
In New Orleans, WVUE will spin up a new digital multicast channel, with games from the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network airing on Channel 7.1, WVUE’s VP and General Manager Mikel Schaefer told The Desk by email. Around eight regular-season games will also simulcast on WVUE’s Fox station, he confirmed.
The first Pelicans game that will be offered through the Gul Coast Sports & Entertainment Network will see the team take on the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, October 23.
“Fans in New Orleans and throughout the Gulf Coast are ready for Pelicans basketball to be available to them subscription free,” Schaefer said in a statement that accompanied the announcement on Tuesday. “We saw how much fans wanted this last season, when the ten Pelicans games we broadcast had the highest ratings ever for the team.”
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“Providing the best overall fan experience and accessibility to the team remains our number one priority,” said Dennis Lauscha, the President of the New Orleans Pelicans. “This new media deal delivers Pelicans coverage to a much larger audience throughout Louisiana and across the Gulf Coast. We are thrilled to partner with Gray Media to bring premier access and unique team content to our fans.”
“Gray Media is thrilled to be able to leverage our resources to connect our loyal viewers with the growing number of Pelicans fans across the Gulf South,” said Sandy Breland, the Chief Operating Officer at Gray Media. “The Pelicans are putting their fans first as now all fans will have the ability to watch the games free over-the-air or through any basic cable, satellite service, or streaming provider that carries the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network.”
“This partnership with Gray Media represents our commitment to our fans, community, and partners across Louisiana and the Gulf South,” Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson said in a statement. “Our focus has been to make Pelicans games accessible to as many fans as possible, and this deal means that Pelicans games will now be available to millions of more fans with this free, over-the-air broadcast product.”
In addition to broadcast TV, the Pelicans said their locally-televised games will also be made available on a forthcoming streaming service. It was not clear from the announcement if the streaming platform will be free or require a paid subscription, though the Pelicans said it will offer extra content like behind-the-scenes footage, suggesting it will be the latter.
Pelicans games were previously offered on a local Bally Sports affiliate. In August, Bally Sports TV owner Diamond Sports Group announced a new deal to continue offering games from 13 National Basketball Association (NBA) teams, while allowing its telecast agreements with the Pelicans and the Dallas Mavericks to expire. Mavericks games will be offered on TEGNA-owned broadcast stations this season.
The Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network is at least the third regional sports broadcast network (RSBN) formed by Gray in recent months as the company pursues more live sports rights.
In August, Gray said it would form the Rock Entertainment Sports Network to deliver sports from Cleveland-based teams. About a week after that announcement, Gray said it was working with several sports teams in South Carolina for a new RSBN called Palmetto Sports & Entertainment.
Last year, Gray clinched the rights to basketball games played by the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury, whose competitions were previously offered on Bally Sports Arizona.
