Suns Live logo Suns Live logo (image via Phoenix Suns)

This week, the Phoenix Suns officially launched their direct-to-consumer streaming service, Suns Live.

The in-market service costs $14.99 a month or $109.99 a year and offers the full slate of five preseason games and 70 regular season games airing locally. It also includes other original content and annual subscribers receive a t-shirt with their subscription.

The Suns will start a new media rights deal this season, featuring games aired locally on the Gray Television-owned Arizona’s Family (KTVK and KPHE) networks. The team left Bally Sports Arizona earlier this year for deals with Gray and Kiswe (who developed the Suns Live service). It was followed out the door by the Diamondbacks (whose rights were rejected by Bally Sports Arizona in July) and Coyotes (who mutually agreed to end their relationship with Bally Sports Arizona this week). MLB produced and distributed Diamondbacks games during the second half of the 2023 season, while the Coyotes signed a multi-year deal with Scripps Sports to air games on KNXV.2.

Price-wise, Suns Live slides in about where you’d expect. The Utah Jazz also announced a direct-to-consumer service in recent weeks and Jazz+ costs $125.50 annually, $15.50 monthly, or $5 for a single game. The Suns are not offering single games for sale.

ClipperVision, the LA Clippers in-market streaming service, costs $124.99 for the season or $19.99 per month. The full-season plan also comes with a subscription to Bally Sports+. MSG+ includes New York Knicks games and costs $9.99 per game, $29.99 per month, and $309.99 per year. Several teams are available on Bally Sports+, which costs $19.99 per month or $189.99 per year.

As the Diamond Sports Group bankruptcy rolls along (it now appears the process will run into 2024), we’ll have to wait and see if any more teams get dropped by the company. Four teams (Coyotes, Diamondbacks, Padres, Suns) have left Diamond in 2023, by their choice, a mutual decision, or by Diamond’s choice. The success that the Coyotes and Suns, along with the Jazz and Vegas Golden Knights, have had in finding non-regional sports network broadcast partners could provide optimism for teams getting caught up in Diamond’s struggles.

[Phoenix Suns]

About Joe Lucia

I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.