With 11 NBA teams still without a local television agreement for next season, there is reportedly a new broadcast company bidding for local rights: Rangers Sports Network.
The news comes from a report by Tom Friend at Sports Business Journal. Rangers Sports Network confirmed in a statement to SBJ that “conversations” had occurred.
“Given the varying challenges with local game broadcasts for many professional sports teams in recent months, and the club’s unique approach in creating Rangers Sports Network, our organization has joined others throughout the industry in conversations about the future of team broadcasts,” the statement read. “While this dialogue is continuing, RSN has yet to finalize any agreements with outside entities at this time.”
According to Friend, Rangers Sports Network is pitching teams on a direct-to-distributor model currently utilized by Rangers Sports Network, BravesVision, and MLB Local Media. Rangers Sports Network would also distribute as many as 15 games over the air. The network is reportedly offering $15 million annually to teams through an 85/15 revenue-share split after production expenses.
Rangers Sports Network has already been turned down by some teams, including the Oklahoma City Thunder, but the San Antonio Spurs are reportedly weighing the Rangers’ offer, according to Friend.
One thing this announcement does not do is make things easier for the many NBA teams still looking for a television home. Following the ongoing shutdown of the FanDuel Sports Network regional sports networks, 13 NBA teams are now without a television home for next season. Two of those teams (the Detroit Pistons and Miami Heat) have already announced short-term over-the-air deals.
The rest of the teams seemingly have the opportunity to choose among full over-the-air deals with local television station owners, a streaming deal with DAZN, a direct-to-consumer deal with Victory+, or a direct-to-distributor deal with Rangers Sports Network.
These deals are expected to be short-term as the NBA continues to move toward launching a streaming package that could be sold to a streamer as an RSN. However, while it was initially thought to launch in 2027-28, Friend reports that because Victory+ is offering two-year deals, the NBA could push back the launch of its streaming package to the 2028-29 season.
If teams were looking for a long-term deal, many would likely follow the money. Friend suggests that DAZN, which recently acquired the direct-to-consumer streaming service ViewLift, is offering the most money at $20 million per year. But teams taking the money and moving to DAZN carries significant risk: DAZN is a relatively unknown streaming service that has long struggled to gain market position in the United States, and it is possible that games will simply not be accessible enough to engage casual fans. Especially in the case of a short-term agreement, accessibility is important.
There are similar, though to a lesser extent, issues with the direct-to-distributor Rangers Sports Network approach. The similarly operated BravesVision is also looking at NBA rights, focusing more on the nearby Atlanta Hawks and Memphis Grizzlies. The Hawks are instead likely to go over-the-air, according to Friend.
Working with distributors means primarily working with cable. There is still a large audience on cable, but cord-cutting continues, and national properties like NASCAR are already seeing some major viewership issues on cable.
Therefore, teams prioritizing reach over money have two likely options: the free Victory+ and over-the-air networks. We have seen this in action in recent years, with an increasing number of NBA and NHL teams choosing reach and accessibility over money by striking such deals.
In the short term, there is no reason to believe teams will abandon this strategy, especially given the higher risks associated with DAZN and Rangers Sports Network.
About Manny Soloway
Manny Soloway is a Iowa based writer focusing on TV ratings. He is also the founder of the TV Media Blog substack.