Capitulating to the popularity of Caitlin Clark, the Indiana Fever are putting 17 of their games on free, over-the-air television this coming season after striking a deal with Tegna’s NBC and MeTV affiliates in Indianapolis. While 36 of the Fever’s 40 regular season games were already slated for national telecasts, the Fever’s goal was to create unfettered access locally on NBC’s WTHR Channel 13 and MeTV’s Channel 13.3 -- an over-the-air trend that has become commonplace in the NBA, as well.
In the NBA, the Suns and Jazz broadcast all of their games on free television last season, while the Hawks, Bucks, Mavericks, Cavaliers, Thunder and Pelicans combined to telecast 48 over-the-air games. If Diamond Sports Group fails to exit bankruptcy later this summer, it is conceivable that as many as 15 NBA teams will transition to free broadcasts for the 2024-25 season.
Similarly, Tegna said in a statement that it “will work with additional broadcast companies in the coming weeks to expand free over-the-air access to all available television markets outside of Indianapolis’’ -- meaning the trend could continue all over the WNBA. The WNBA’s national broadcasts can be currently seen on ESPN/ABC, ESPN+, Amazon Prime Video, Ion, NBA TV and CBS/CBS Sports Network.
The arrangement was brokered and negotiated for the Fever by Dan Granik and David Sternberg of Range Sports, longtime consultants to Pacers Sports & Entertainment, and Lee Berke and Brad Ramsey for Tegna. Ramsey heads up the sports at Tegna.
