Key Points
- Cox Media Group is rebranding WRDQ (Channel 27) in Orlando as Magic TV 27, positioning the station around local sports, news and family-oriented entertainment.
- The new identity follows CMG Orlando’s multi-year agreement with the Orlando Magic, which made WRDQ and WFTV the team’s exclusive local broadcast partners.
- Magic TV 27 will carry 77 Orlando Magic regular-season games this season, making the broadcasts available free over the air across Central Florida.
Cox Media Group is giving one of its Orlando television stations a new identity built largely around local sports.
WRDQ (Channel 27) is being rebranded as “Magic TV 27,” a name that reflects the station’s expanded relationship with the Orlando Magic and a broader programming strategy that includes professional basketball, minor-league sports, local news and syndicated entertainment.
The change follows a multi-year agreement announced by Cox Media Group Orlando that made WRDQ and sister station WFTV (Channel 9, ABC) the exclusive local broadcast partners of the Orlando Magic.
Under that deal, Magic TV 27 will carry 77 Magic regular-season games this season, giving Central Florida viewers free over-the-air access to most of the team’s schedule.
The sports lineup will extend beyond the NBA. Magic TV 27 will also carry home games involving the Osceola Magic, Orlando’s NBA G League affiliate, along with home games from the Orlando Solar Bears, the ECHL affiliate of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Magic TV 27 represents much more than a new name,” Darren Moore, the Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cox Media Orlando TV, said in a statement. “It reflects our commitment to delivering premium sports and entertainment programming that is accessible to everyone.”
Sports will become a bigger part of WRDQ’s identity, but the station will retain other established programming.
Channel 9 Eyewitness News will continue airing on WRDQ weekdays from 4:30 a.m. to 7 a.m. and nightly at 10 p.m. The schedule will also include syndicated entertainment programs such as “Family Feud,” hosted by Steve Harvey.
Cox Media said programming carried by Magic TV 27 will remain available free over the air and through cable, satellite, streaming cable-like services and other distributors that already carry WRDQ.
The rebrand gives Cox Media a second Orlando television brand through which it can distribute an expanding slate of local sports alongside WFTV.
“Central Florida is a passionate sports market, and MagicTV 27 gives us a powerful platform to bring fans closer to their teams than ever before,” Moore said.
Updated graphics, promotional materials, digital branding and community outreach tied to Magic TV 27 are being rolled out as part of the station’s new identity.
