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How games are delivered to local sports fans is undergoing a rapid change. Kiswe's streaming service aims to play a role in this shift.

What's happening: The Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz tip off their season this week with a new wrinkle: Along with moving their games from cable to broadcast, both are running their own paid streaming services with the help of Kiswe.

The two are part of a handful of teams that have ditched lucrative rights deals with RSNs in favor of increasing their reach through this new "stream and beam" model.

"It is the beginning of a new trend. It's something that we had anticipated for years," Kiswe co-founder Wim Sweldens tells Tim.

The company has been working with the NBA on its League Pass subscription service for years, translating games into different languages and producing alternate broadcasts.

The big picture: After years of catering to out-of-market fans when it comes to streaming options, the decline of the RSN business has forced teams to rethink distributing games to their local fans.

The handful of teams that have ditched RSN partners have had to build out streaming services quickly; the NHL's Vegas Golden Knights have a deal with ViewLift for their own direct-to-consumer option, while the Arizona Coyotes are still figuring theirs out.

Some of the more well-funded RSNs owned by the teams they air — such as New England Sports Network, YES Network and MSG Network — have launched streaming versions in recent years.

Be smart: The RSN business isn't getting any better. More teams in the coming years will likely mimic what the Suns and Jazz are doing.

Kiswe and ViewLift appear to be the main competitors in this small but growing space — the latter is also working with the Washington, D.C.-based Monumental Sports Network on their streaming service.

But Sweldens expects more competitors to emerge. Amazon and Apple have each expressed interest in NBA rights that would include both local and national.

"It's competitive because it's a growing space. There is clearly a new business," he says. "We're obviously talking to lots of other leagues and teams about [it] because everybody in the industry is talking about it."

Kiswe co-founder talks Suns and Jazz local streaming

The push for local sports streaming is opening up a new category for tech providers.

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National Basketball Association (NBA)

<p>How games are delivered to local sports fans is undergoing a <a class="gtmContentClick" data-vars-link-text="rapid change" data-vars-click-url="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2023/10/10/pro-sports-local-tv-model" data-vars-content-id="789cac72-f819-4e85-8609-669a1f71b9b5" data-vars-headline="Kiswe co-founder talks Suns and Jazz local streaming" data-vars-event-category="story" data-vars-sub-category="story" data-vars-item="in_content_link" href="https://www.axios.com/pro/media-deals/2023/10/10/pro-sports-local-tv-model" target="_self">rapid change</a>. Kiswe&#x27;s streaming service aims to play a role in this shift.</p>

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Kiswe co-founder talks Suns and Jazz local streaming

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