New Orleans Pelicans in advanced discussions to air games on Fox 8

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A handful of New Orleans Pelicans games could be coming to over-the-air television this season.

In mid-November, the New Orleans Pelicans received confirmation that their local rights deal with struggling Bally Sports would expire at the end of the 2023-24 campaign.

As part of Bally Sports' bankruptcy agreement, NBA teams learned that they would be allowed to take 10 of their games to an over-the-air TV station.


The Pelicans are in advanced discussions with Fox 8 to show 10 of their games there over the next five months, The Times-Picayune has learned.

The Pelicans declined to confirm this news.

There are still significant technical hurdles to overcome before a deal can come to fruition. Bally Sports' financial issues also threaten to alter these plans.

Any deal is unlikely to be finalized until mid- to late December. Until that happens, the Pelicans will not be able to decide which of their 10 games will be shown on Fox 8.

A partnership between the Pelicans and Fox 8 would allow the team to test the viability of going over-the-air before it has to find another local rights partner this summer.


Partnering with an over-the-air station would vastly increase the number of households that are able to consume Pelicans games. Under the current agreement with Bally Sports, the maximum number of households the Pelicans can reach tops out at around 700,000. A deal with Fox 8 and its affiliates would allow the Pelicans to reach 7 million households.

Under the current agreement with Bally Sports, Pelicans games are not available on YouTube TV and Hulu Live, two of the major streaming platforms. Bally Sports has a streaming option called Bally Sports+ that costs $19.99 per month. Fans have criticized Bally Sports+ as unreliable and expensive.

Broadcasting games on Fox 8 will allow anyone with an antenna on their TV to watch Zion Williamson, Brandon Ingram and Co.


A pair of NBA teams, the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz, decided before the start of this season to partner with over-the-air stations. With Bally Sports struggling, it appears more NBA teams will follow suit.

The Pelicans (10-9) advanced to the NBA In-Season Tournament knockout round, despite dealing with significant injury issues early in the season. Their quarterfinals game Monday against the Sacramento Kings will be broadcast simultaneously on TNT and Bally Sports.

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