The Phoenix Suns and the Phoenix Mercury are celebrating a groundbreaking agreement in the realm of local media rights, two years after being the first NBA team to break with their struggling regional television partner. The Suns and Mercury have reached a two-year extension agreement with Gray Media, which will allow the free broadcast of their games in Arizona until the 2027-28 season. This agreement, valued at more than $30 million per season, recovers the revenue that was lost after the breakup with Diamond Sports in 2023. This lucrative contract has been boosted by a significant increase in the Suns’ local audiences, which have more than doubled, and by the Mercury’s audience growth of 425%, in line with the widespread increase in WNBA audiences.
At the time, this decision was bold and unusual, which led Diamond Sports to sue the team for breach of contract. After the resolution of the lawsuit, the Suns focused on producing their own broadcasts and airing them on open television, even giving away antennas to their fans. In addition, they launched a streaming service called Suns+. This strategy was followed by other NBA teams that also faced problems with regional sports networks (RSN), including the Utah Jazz, the Charlotte Hornets, and the New Orleans Pelicans. The precarious situation of RSNs, exacerbated by the decline in cable subscribers, represents one of the biggest financial challenges currently facing the NBA. Although revenue growth has been secured with a new 11-year, $77 billion national media rights deal, the reduction in local television revenue has forced the league to slightly decrease salary projections for this season. Each NBA team is expected to receive approximately $145 million from rights deals next season. However, some teams are dealing with reductions in their local television deals. For example, the New York Knicks agreed to reduce their local television deal by $41 million for the 2025-26 season, as part of a restructuring plan with MSG Networks. Ishbia has been in contact with other owners who are exploring how to adapt to changing market conditions and expects the early success of the Suns and Mercury to continue. In the next two years, 18 teams will see their agreements with RSNs expire, and the NBA is looking at options in both over-the-air television and streaming platforms.It has been a beneficial situation for everyone. It was about doing the right thing for the fans and making the games more accessible. And when the fan base expands, good things happen.
Mat Ishbia, owner of the Suns and the Mercury
Everyone wanted to wait and see, it’s a big step to take less money [from local television] or even none and trust in it. Hopefully it can be a model for other NBA teams. You do the right thing for the customer and good things tend to happen.
Mat Ishbia, owner of the Suns and the Mercury
