TEGNA has reached a deal with three peer television broadcasters that will air games from the Dallas Mavericks this season.
On Thursday, executives said eight television stations owned by Nexstar Media Group, Sinclair and Gray Media are joining eight TEGNA-owned stations that have committed to airing Mavericks games during the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) 2024-25 season.
Nearly six dozen regular-season games will air on the stations, TEGNA said, which include match-ups that were previously scheduled to air on a Bally Sports-branded regional network. In August, Bally Sports TV owner Diamond Sports Group said it would stop offering games from the Mavericks and one other NBA team. The announcement was made in a court filing as part of Diamond Sports’ Chapter 11 bankruptcy case, which began last year.
In September, TEGNA said it would take over the local telecast rights to Dallas Mavericks games. Pre-season games have aired on eight TEGNA-owned broadcast stations since the start of the month:
- KAGS-LD (Channel 23, NBC) in College Station
- KCEN (Channel 6, NBC) in Waco
- KFAA (Channel 29) in Dallas-Fort Worth
- KIDY (Channel 6, Fox) in San Angelo
- KWES (Channel 9, NBC) in Midland
- KXVA (Channel 15, Fox) in Abilene
- KYTX (Channel 19, CBS) in Tyler
- WFAA (Channel 8, ABC) in Dallas-Fort Worth
The eight other stations will air Mavericks games with the first regular-season match-up, which is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 26. Those stations are:
- KDBC (Channel 4, CBS) in El Paso [Sinclair]
- KFDA (Channel 10) in Amarillo [Gray]
- KGBT (Channel 4) in Brownsville [Nexstar]
- KJBO (Channel 3) in Wichita Falls [Nexstar]
- KMYL (Channel 14) in Lubbock [Gray]
- KSHV (Channel 45) in Texarkana [Nexstar]
- KXNU (Channel 10) in Laredo [Gray]
- KXII (Channel 12) in Sherman [Gray]
In El Paso, Amarilo, Laredo, Sherman and Wichita Falls, the games will air on a digital sub-channel of the station’s main signal. WFAA will continue to oversee broadcast production duties of the games, which air on that channel and co-owned KFAA (Channel 29, formerly KMPX), as well as local and regional advertising sales.
Related: Dallas Mavericks games moving to TEGNA-owned stations
“We’re thrilled by the positive response from fans and advertising partners as we gear up to significantly expand the reach of Mavs games,” said Brad Ramsey, the Senior Vice President of Media Operations at TEGNA. “We are grateful to our partner stations from Gray, Nexstar, and Sinclair for helping us create more excitement, for more fans, in even more homes across Texas.”
“Providing access to games has always been our top priority,” Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall said in a statement. “We are thrilled to work with WFAA to bring more fun and excitement to all of our MFFLs (Mavericks Fans For Life) across North Texas and beyond.”
“We’re delighted to partner with the Dallas Mavericks and TEGNA to bring these games to our local viewers,” said Sandy Breland, the Chief Operating Officer of Gray Media. “Our Texas stations have long brought their communities local sports free over-the-air, and we’re proud to continue that tradition.”
“Nexstar is very excited to bring Dallas Mavericks basketball to viewers in three of its markets across Texas and Louisiana,” said Andrew Alford, the President of Nexstar’s broadcasting division. “We’re looking forward to a great NBA season for the team, and for our viewers and local advertisers in Shreveport, Wichita Falls, and Brownsville.”
“We’re excited to extend the reach of Mavs basketball to fans in El Paso, furthering Sinclair’s commitment to providing local viewers with high-quality sports programming,” Rob Weisbord, the Chief Operating Officer and President of Local Media at Sinclair, said in a statement.
The additional broadcast partners will also open the door for the games to be distributed on cable TV and satellite in other parts of Texas. In most areas, Comcast’s Xfinity, Charter’s Spectrum, Altice U.S.’s Optimum and Frontier offer the stations that will air Mavericks games; some of the channels are also offered on Dish Network and DirecTV, though availability depends on the market.
