Rip City fans rejoice! The Portland Trail Blazers recently announced the ending of their broadcast partnership with ROOT Sports Northwest. Regarding the mutual decision to terminate the deal that still had one year remaining, the Blazers said the following: “Trail Blazers basketball will no longer air on ROOT Sports, but we thank ROOT Sports for years of great partnership. An exciting announcement on the future television home of Blazers basketball will be made soon.”
Future Plans
The Seattle Kraken made a similar decision in April, ending their deal with ROOT Sports early and switching to an over-the-air TEGNA-owned station. ROOT Sports Northwest, owned by the Mariners, is expected to lose significant money due to the Kraken and now the Blazers ending their partnerships.
Sean Highkin of the Rose Garden Report mentions that the Blazers will also be moving to an over-the-air partner. It remains to be seen who the Blazers’ next partnership will be with. Some possibilities for local over-the-air stations include Gray-owned KPTV Channel 12 and Sinclair-owned KATU Channel 2, although others are in the mix as well. It’s worth noting that Fox’s KPTV already works with the G League team Rip City Remix.
Impact On Accessibility
But the bottom line is that “most importantly, the Blazers’ games are likely going to be a lot easier to watch,” as Highkin mentions. ROOT was only available on Comcast, DirecTV, and FuboTV. The lack of accessibility, in conjunction with the Damian Lillard trade and embracing of a rebuild, led to a 49 percent decrease from the Blazers’ 2022-23 local TV ratings.
The decision is win-win; the Blazers take a long-term financial approach by giving up guaranteed rights fees but making their games more widely available, while Blazers fans can watch games much more easily. Maybe some new fans who haven’t been able to watch games before will join the party, too!
What This Means For The Industry
The Blazers are now the fourth team in the NBA to move on from an RSN model, joining the Jazz, Suns, and Pelicans. New Orleans only recently made the switch, but the Jazz and Suns have had success since. The Jazz implemented a steaming service, Jazz+, for $125 per season (the Blazers could pursue something similar down the road). Meanwhile, the Suns switched from Bally Sports Arizona to over-the-air last season and saw nearly double the amount of local TV ratings.
Portland is earning its name “trailblazer” as an early adopter of the over-the-air model. Some teams that could be next include the Grizzlies, Thunder, Mavericks, Spurs, and Magic, rumored to be on the chopping block from the Diamond Sports Group, which is emerging from bankruptcy. However, many teams, not just in the NBA, are sure to follow, especially after seeing the financial impact the increase in accessibility has on these teams.
