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Phoenix Suns, Mercury television deal: What you need to know

Chris Coppola, Arizona Republic
·3 min read

The NBA's Phoenix Suns and WNBA's Phoenix Mercury announced the franchises will have a new local television partner broadcasting games going forward.

Here's a quick summary of key questions related to the announcement:

Who is the new local television provider for the Suns and Mercury?

Gray Television Inc., will assume television broadcast rights, while Kiswe, an interactive video company, will assume live streaming. In Arizona, Gray owns Phoenix television stations KTVK (Arizona’s Family 3TV), KPHO (Arizona’s Family CBS5) and the statewide KPHE (AZ Family Sports Network).

Will I be able to watch games on local television for free?

Yes. Suns owner Mat Ishbia made that clear in the statement released Friday announcing the new partnership. The Suns and Mercury will have rights to all non-national exclusive games, which will be broadcast between KTVK and KPHE, the statement said. The Suns will have a minimum of 70 games broadcast, with at least 40 regular-season games on KTVK in Phoenix (Ch. 3) and the remaining on KPHE. In addition, Kiswe will give fans access to Suns and Mercury games through a DTC streaming option.

More: Phoenix Suns, Mercury leaving Bally Sports Arizona for Gray Television, Inc.

Phoenix Suns fans cheer during action against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first half of Game 5 at Footprint Center in Phoenix on April 25, 2023.
Phoenix Suns fans cheer during action against the Los Angeles Clippers in the first half of Game 5 at Footprint Center in Phoenix on April 25, 2023.

When does this start?

For the Suns, this begins at the start of the next regular season. The team's broadcasts on Bally Sports Arizona have concluded for this year, all of their remaining playoff games this season will be broadcast on national cable outlets carrying the NBA playoffs and will not be subject to blackouts. The NBA Finals will be broadcast on ABC (Ch. 15 locally). However, Mercury games will begin airing under the new deal with the team's upcoming season. Their first preseason game is May 9, and the regular season starts May 19.

Why did the teams leave Bally Sports Arizona?

The move brings Suns games to a much broader television audience, but other factors are likely at play. Bally Sports Arizona has been available for purchase as a separate streaming service that included Suns, Mercury and Coyotes games, but not Diamondbacks games. It also is available on some television providers, including Cox, but not all, notably YouTube TV, which has grown in popularity. Because of contract obligations with certain providers, this would result at times in blackouts of games on others even if they were being broadcast on national cable outlets.

Bally Sports operates 19 regional sports networks across the country and is owned by Diamond Sports Group, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month. The company contends in a statement released Friday morning that the Suns and Mercury violated terms of their contract with Bally by leaving and signing on with Gray. The Suns deny that accusation.

More: Diamond Sports Group accuses Phoenix Suns of breach of contract in leaving Bally Sports Arizona

What about the Arizona Diamondbacks?

The Diamondbacks are not affected by this deal. Notably, the Diamondbacks also are not available on the separate Bally streaming service. Major League Baseball has expressed concern about Bally's financial situation. Diamond has missed payments to some MLB teams, including the Diamondbacks, but has said it intends to make those payments. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred has said if Diamond failed to live up to its contract obligations, MLB could step in and take over games through its MLB Network, which various providers could then carry.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Phoenix Suns, Mercury leaving Bally Sports Arizona: What you need to know