Charlotte Hornets broadcast five regular season games on local television

The Charlotte Hornets are making a significant change to their broadcast schedule for the upcoming season, opting to broadcast five regular season games on local television. The move falls in line with a recent trend among NBA teams moving away from broadcasting games exclusively on cable and streaming services.

The specific channel and game pairings for the local broadcasts have yet to be announced. However, Hornets general manager Shelly Cayette-Weston revealed the team's media plans in an interview with the Charlotte Business Journal.

The decision to air games on local television comes as the Hornets are one of 13 NBA teams affiliated with Diamond Sports Group's regional sports networks, which, as you may know, filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2023. Since this news surfaced, there has been a lot of uncertainty about where fans will be able to watch games in the future.

In August 2024, Hornets co-owner Rick Schnall told reporters: “There will be a place to watch the Hornets. We expect it will be Bally Sports under the terms of the contract, but if not we will have alternative plans.”

It is planned that all 82 of the Hornets' games will be available to stream on BallySports next season, but there will be five games that will be allowed to air on local television.

And don't worry about the broadcast team… the report also confirmed that Eric Collins and Dell Curry will continue to be the most engaging broadcast duo in the NBA, with new addition Shannon Spake as sideline reporter, replacing Ashley ShahAhmadi , who moved last offseason.

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