Dallas Mavericks Announce 10-Game Schedule on Local Broadcast Channel Joining Growing Trend Away from RSNs
Dallas Mavericks Announce 10-Game Schedule on Local Broadcast Channel Joining Growing Trend Away from RSNs
The Mavericks will play on WFAA, an ABC affiliate that serves the Dallas-Fort Worth area a total of 13 more times this season thanks to the new arrangement.
When the NBA agreed to a new broadcasting deal with Diamond Sports Group in November, it added an intriguing proviso to the pact. Each of the 15 NBA teams delivered to in-market customers on a Bally Sports channel has the right to pull a number of games from the cable network and put it on one or several local broadcast channels in the area. This week, the Dallas Mavericks have unveiled their 10-game schedule of contests that won’t air on Bally Sports Southwest.
- The Mavericks will air 10 games originally scheduled for Bally Sports Southwest on WFAA, the ABC affiliate in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
- In addition to these 10 games, WFAA will carry two more Mavericks games through the NBA on ABC slate.
- Mavericks games on WFAA begin March 1 with the team’s matchup against the Boston Celtics.
Which Mavericks Games Are Headed to WFAA?
There are some big-name opponents on the schedule of games that the Dallas Mavericks will play on WFAA in Dallas-Fort Worth. The series of games starts with a visit to Beantown to take on the Boston Celtics, who are current favorites in the Eastern Conference to make the NBA Finals. The Miami Heat are on the schedule twice, and other opponents that Dallas-area fans will be able to watch free over-the-air include the Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings and Denver Nuggets.
“We are very proud to partner with the Dallas Mavericks and to make these important late-season games available to every fan, and every household, in North Texas,” said Brad Ramsey, president and GM of WFAA. “As WFAA celebrates 75 years, we’ve long been the home for live, local sports and local sports fans and we look forward to cheering on the Mavs right alongside their fans and our viewers.”
Check out the full schedule of Mavericks games on WFAA, including NBA on ABC contests below.
| Date | Time (ET) | Matchup |
|---|---|---|
| Jan. 24 | 9:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns (NBA on ABC) |
| March 1 | 8:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks @ Boston Celtics |
| March 3 | 2 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Philadelphia 76ers (NBA on ABC) |
| March 7 | 8:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Miami Heat |
| March 9 | 8 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks @ Detroit Pistons |
| March 11 | 9 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks @ Chicago Bulls |
| March 13 | 9:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors |
| March 17 | 4:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Denver Nuggets (NBA on ABC) |
| March 29 | 11 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Sacramento Kings |
| April 5 | 9:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Atlanta Hawks |
| April 9 | 8 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks @ Charlotte Hornets |
| April 10 | 8:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks @ Miami Heat |
| April 12 | 9:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Detroit Pistons |
Check out which live streamers in Dallas will air the Mavericks games:
| DIRECTV | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube TV | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free 3-Day Trial | Free Trial | Save with Sling | Free Trial | |||||
| $20.99 | $9.99 | $28.99 | $25 | $19.99 | $29.99 | $45.99 | $45.99 | $64.99 | ||
| ABC | + $24 | + $59 | + $61 | - | - | VOD | - | VOD | ✓ | |
What Other NBA Teams Have Put Games on Local Broadcast Channels?
The Mavericks are just the latest team to take advantage of the NBA’s deal with Diamond which allows its teams to air a package of contests on local channels. The San Antonio Spurs, Atlanta Hawks, and New Orleans Pelicans are other teams whose games are primarily offered by a Bally Sports channel to in-market customers who have put a bundle of games on local over-the-air channels this season.
Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has to be thrilled with the arrangement. In November, after technical difficulties temporarily disrupted the stream of Mavericks games on Bally Sports+, Cuban said he’d take the team to broadcast channels permanently and make its games free to stream immediately if possible, but the deal with Bally Sports Southwest prevented that. Diamond’s contract with the NBA expires after this season under its current terms, so Cuban will have the chance to follow through on those wishes after this year if he so chooses.
Broadcast and streaming rights for NBA teams will become an even hotter topic of conversation in the coming months, as the league’s national broadcast rights are to come up for sale at the end of the 2024-25 season. Each team covered by a Bally Sports channel might be looking for a new local broadcast partner by the end of this year, which is why squads like the Mavericks are testing the response to placing their games on local broadcast channels now.
Bally Sports+
Bally Sports+ was a direct-to-consumer streaming service that provided live, in-market games without requiring a cable or satellite subscription. It allowed fans to watch their local Bally Sports regional sports network (RSN) without a traditional TV package.