TV antennas send sports broadcasts back to the future
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Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios
A growing number of American sports teams have embraced retro technology — the antenna — to broadcast games to cord-cutting local fans.
Why it matters: Teams are making big bets on old-school free airwaves to increase the size of their audience and help replace a failing system of regional sports networks on cable television.
Driving the news: At least 13 franchises scattered across the country — mostly in the NBA and NHL — are broadcasting the bulk of their seasons on over-the-air networks. More are airing a few games to test the water.
- Some of them, including the Portland Trail Blazers, are giving out free antennas to fans who don't have them.
- Most of the teams are also setting up streaming services for fans. But those are still paid services, even if they're far cheaper than traditional cable subscriptions.
The big picture: The broadcast bounceback is part of a seismic sports media shift that's simultaneously taking the industry back to the 1980s and into the future.
- Media revenues drive the sports business. But the fragmented landscape makes it harder than ever to reach a mass audience, Axios Pro's Tim Baysinger writes.
- Sacrificing massive fees paid by once-lucrative regional sports networks lets teams broaden their reach and prepare for a future with different revenue sources.
Zoom in: Chicago is the largest market yet to get an over-the-air option for most of its teams.
- The new Chicago Sports Network will broadcast Bulls, Blackhawks and White Sox games.
- Other teams with over-the-air broadcasts include the Dallas Mavericks and Stars; Utah Hockey Club and Jazz; Florida Panthers; Seattle Kraken; Phoenix Suns and the New Orleans Pelicans.
Between the lines: The NFL has long provided every game on free TV broadcasts for local markets — even ones that air on streaming platforms.
- Live sporting events, especially football, represent an astonishing number of the most-watched shows on television.
