Key Points:
- The Phoenix Suns and Mercury signed a two-year extension with Gray Television to air games free over-the-air across Arizona through 2027-28.
- The deal is valued at more than $30 million per season, restoring revenue lost when the teams exited Diamond Sports in 2023.
- Suns local TV ratings have more than doubled and Mercury audiences have surged 425 percent since moving to free broadcast distribution.
Two years after severing ties with a bankrupt regional sports network, the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Mercury have secured a new local media rights deal that restores nearly all of their lost revenue.
The teams on Thursday announced a two-year extension with Gray Television that will keep games on free, over-the-air stations across Arizona through the 2027-28 season. The agreement is worth more than $30 million per year, according to ESPN, roughly matching the income once generated under a long-standing arrangement with Diamond Sports Group before its 2023 bankruptcy.
The Suns and Mercury first struck a deal with Gray after abandoning Diamond’s Bally Sports Arizona, making it the first NBA franchise to leave a regional sports network in favor of free broadcast distribution. Diamond Sports — which now operates as Main Street Sports — initially sued to block the deal, but the case ultimately went Gray’s way.
Since then, the shift has paid off. Local television ratings for the Suns more than doubled, while the Mercury saw audiences jump 425 percent amid broader growth for the WNBA.
“It’s been a win-win,” Suns and Mercury owner Mat Ishbia told ESPN in an interview. “It was, do right by the fans and get the games more accessible. And when you grow your fan base, good things happen.”
In Phoenix, Suns and Mercury games are largely aired on KTVK (Channel 3), an independent station that is part of a duopoly with the market’s CBS affiliate, KPHO (Channel 5). After securing rights to the games, Gray assumed all production responsibilities.
In addition to broadcast TV, Suns and Mercury fans have access to games through a streaming service called Suns Plus (stylized as Suns+). The hybrid broadcast-streaming distribution model gave viewers multiple options to watch games without cable or satellite subscriptions.
The strategy has since inspired other NBA teams facing regional sports network turmoil. The Utah Jazz, Charlotte Hornets and New Orleans Pelicans have all moved a portion or all of their games to local broadcast outlets free to viewers. Gray Media has local broadcast partnerships with all three teams.
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