Kiswe Partners with NBA to Stream Utah Jazz Games In-Market After Team Leaves Regional Sports Network Behind
Kiswe Partners with NBA to Stream Utah Jazz Games In-Market After Team Leaves Regional Sports Network Behind
The NBA may have found itself a reliable partner for streaming games locally. According to a report from John Ourand at the Sports Business Journal, the league is partnering with independent video firm Kiswe to launch an in-market streaming service for the Utah Jazz that will be ready in time for the 2023-24 season.
Details about the new streaming platform, including price, subscription options and shoulder programming will be announced in the next month. The Jazz announced that an in-market streaming option was coming this year when the team left its former regional sports network (RSN) home AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain in favor of KJZZ, a Sinclair-owned broadcast channel that is available in every home in Utah with an over-the-air antenna.
The Jazz are the second team that Kiswe will partner with to offer NBA games this season. The Phoenix Suns were the first to partner with the tech company, agreeing to stream their games in-market on a new streaming platform after breaking away from Bally Sports Arizona this spring. Kiswe also streams the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury in the Arizona area.
The Jazz are the latest team to leave an RSN in favor of local broadcast channels and an in-market streaming option, but they may not be the last this season. Local broadcast rights to half the league’s teams are still held by Diamond Sports Group, the owner of Bally Sports RSNs, but the company has been reluctant to make a full commitment to the league before its carriage deals with Comcast and DIRECTV are completely negotiated for the upcoming year. DSG is in the midst of bankruptcy court proceedings, as it attempts to resolve a debt load of more than $8 billion.
Kiswe stands ready to step in for any team which needs its games distributed locally, and it may find its line to the NBA in use quite a bit this season if DSG collapses and is unable to broadcast games or stream them on Bally Sports+. If the company and the league find their working relationship is a good one, Kiswe could even find itself in competition for the streaming-exclusive package of games the league reportedly wants to sell in its next round of broadcast deals.
Sports leagues are increasingly acknowledging the fact that cord-cutting has completely decimated the old model of broadcasting games on cable. The NFL announced that it was adding NFL RedZone to its NFL+ streaming service this week, another sign that leagues are recognizing how important it is to acclimate users to watching games via streaming instead of with a pay-TV subscription. Utah Jazz fans who live outside the Utah market can stream the team via NBA League Pass as always this season.
NBA League Pass
For basketball fans, NBA League Pass offers the opportunity to follow one team or the entire league with every game (blackout restrictions apply). Prices and features vary greatly, depending on what you’d like to watch.