The Phoenix Suns, the first NBA team to make the leap from traditional regional sports networks to over-the-air broadcast television in 2023, will remain on local Gray Media affiliates in Arizona until the end of the decade.

The Suns, and the WNBA’s Phoenix Mercury, have reached a four-year extension to keep local broadcasts on Gray Media stations across Arizona, according to a report by Tom Friend in Sports Business Journal. The move marks the first time an NBA team has reached a long-term renewal with an over-the-air broadcaster after previously leaving a cable-based regional sports network, and comes at an inflection point for 12 other NBA currently deciding where to place local broadcasts for the 2026-27 season.

Those 12 teams, all formerly under contract with the now-defunct Main Street Sports Group, owner of the FanDuel Sports Networks, are largely deciding between two paths: an over-the-air arrangement supplemented by a direct-to-consumer streaming service like the Suns, or partnering with a company like DAZN to make streaming the primary method of distribution for local broadcasts.

One former Main Street team, the Detroit Pistons, has already chosen to go the over-the-air route through a deal with Scripps. The 12 remaining teams could view the Suns’ renewal with Gray as an endorsement that the over-the-air model is working.

That said, even the Suns, which, thanks to the increased reach of over-the-air broadcasts finished behind only the Celtics, Warriors, and Knicks this season in terms of impressions, per SBJ, haven’t fully recouped their previous media rights fee of $36 million per year. However, SBJ reports the Suns are “closer” to recouping previous levels of local media revenue than other teams that have made the jump from traditional regional sports networks to over-the-air broadcasters.

The Suns’ extension will, barring any opt-out options, take them out of the running for inclusion in a potential centralized local broadcast platform, which the NBA hopes to launch in time for the 2027-28 season. The team’s willingness to strike a deal beyond that time frame signals confidence in the over-the-air model. Other teams currently in the market for new local broadcast deals are reportedly requesting exit options following the 2026-27 season in order to potentially join the NBA’s forthcoming local broadcast hub.

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