The Atlanta Hawks are going over-the-air.
According to a report by Tom Friend in Sports Business Journal, the Hawks have formalized a local broadcast deal with Gray Media that will see the team’s games air on WANF-Channel 46 in Atlanta, and on the Peachtree Sports Network across the rest of the state.
The Hawks become the fourth NBA team formerly inked to a deal with Main Street Sports Group, owner of the FanDuel Sports Networks, to sign a deal that moves local broadcasts to local, over-the-air affiliates in their market. The Detroit Pistons, Miami Heat, and Milwaukee Bucks have announced similar deals in recent weeks. Nine other former-Main Street NBA teams have yet to announce broadcast plans.
Per Friend, the Hawks are expected to take a substantial haircut on media rights revenue as part of the deal. Under Main Street, the Hawks were earning about $30 million per season, while the deal with Gray Media likely will fall in the $8 million to $10 million range. Shrinking rights fees have become a universal reality for teams shifting from traditional regional sports networks to over-the-air broadcasters.
The goal, of course, is by placing games on free, over-the-air television, the Hawks will greatly increase their reach, which will help boost other revenue streams like advertising, merchandising, and ticket sales.
Andrew Saltzman, the team’s Chief Commercial Officer, tells Sports Business Journal that fans should expect more than just game broadcasts on the Gray networks participating in the new deal. “You’re going to see a ton of ancillary programming and shoulder programming and short form and long form. They’re really going to wrap our brand around their entire television station here in Atlanta and throughout the state of Georgia,” Saltzman said.
As is the case with other franchises to make the transition to over-the-air, the Hawks plan to supplement the move with a direct-to-consumer streaming app, which will be announced at a later date.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.