FanDuel Sports Network (Main Street Sports Group) is no longer airing NBA games, forcing several teams to search for new local television broadcast partners. One of those franchises — the Heat — revealed Monday that it has secured a new local TV home, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
According to Chiang, WPLG Local 10 will now broadcast all of the team’s non-nationally televised games free over the air.
WPLG actually began working with the Heat during the previous season, per Chiang, when Local 10 carried 12 simulcast games previously shown on FanDuel Sports Network. Fans in South Florida who are unable to access WPLG will still be able to watch games through the station’s new streaming service (Local 10 Plus Platinum), which is also free.
“The great thing about the relationship with WPLG is that what the fans will notice really won’t be that much of a change,” Heat executive vice president and chief marketing officer Michael McCullough said. “Our broadcast behind-the-scenes people are still the same. Our on-air talent is still the same. What we have now is a new relationship that allows more people to see our network quality broadcast and to hear that familiar call of Eric Reid and John Crotty for all games that are not being exclusively televised by a national broadcaster. So whatever the Heat fan has enjoyed for a number of years with our previous broadcast partner, they will get that and more with the relationship with WPLG.”
While the Heat are pleased to expand their partnership with WPLG, McCullough noted the agreement currently only runs through the upcoming season, Chiang reports. The complete broadcast schedule will be released after the NBA unveils its full season schedule in August.
The NBA has also reportedly explored the possibility of launching its own centralized streaming platform for local broadcasts, though that idea is not expected to materialize until at least the 2027/28 season.