The Dallas Mavericks became the latest team to fast-break their local game telecasts from a regional sports network to a broadcaster, announcing a deal with Tegna.

Tegna’s KMPX in the Dallas-Ft. Worth market will broadcast all Mavericks games not exclusively televised nationally for free.

WFAA, the Tegna-owned ABC affiliate in Dallas, will simulcast at least 15 of those games.

The games will also be broadcast by Tegna stations in Waco, Midland-Odessa, Abilene and San Angelo.

Tegna said Mavericks telecasts will reach about 10 million people over the air — that’s triple the audience reach the team achieved via cable under its old deal with RSN Bally Sports South. 

“We are looking forward to giving Dallas Mavericks fans every opportunity possible to watch our exciting team build on the momentum of its incredible run to the NBA Finals last season,” Mavericks governor Patrick Dumont said. “Our new agreement with Tegna helps meaningfully deliver on that goal by broadcasting more games to more local homes than in any period in franchise history. Through our new partnership with Tegna and our expanded relationship with WFAA, more Mavs fans than ever before will be able to watch the team they love.”

WFAA becomes the official local broadcast partner of the Dallas Mavericks. WFAA and Tegna will lead local and regional advertising and sponsorship sales for all local games, and Tegna will work with partner broadcast companies to announce additional Texas markets.

“This is an incredible day for Mavs fans and our partners across Texas, and we are grateful to the Mavericks organization for their partnership and trust,” Tegna senior VP, media operations Brad Ramsey, said. “Mavericks fans, our audience, and our advertising partners had an unbelievable reaction to the 10 games we made available last season, and we are thrilled to build off of that momentum and make every game, home or away, available to more fans in more homes.”

ESPN tips off its NBA Finals coverage tonight (June 6) on ABC with hopes that the Boston Celtics-Dallas Mavericks title matchup will attract both hardcore and casual hoops fans.

The league enters the finals after overall NBA playoffs ratings dropped 11% to 4.10 million viewers across ABC, ESPN TNT and NBA TV compared to last year, according to Nielsen numbers supplied by SportsMedia Watch. 

Despite declining NBA playoff ratings, ESPN VP of acquisitions Matt Kenny believes that the Celtics-Mavericks matchup is a marquee battle between two teams with several superstars: Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown of the Celtics and Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving of the Mavericks. 

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“We couldn’t be happier with the storylines that have presented themselves for the finals,” Kenny said. “Obviously, Boston has been tremendous for several years now, and then you had an incredible playoff run by the Dallas Mavericks. We think the Celtics and Mavericks are going to be a lot of fun for fans.”

ABC will look to top the 11.64 million viewers generated by last year’s NBA Finals, in which the Denver Nuggets beat the Miami Heat in five games. Kenny says with both teams taking different paths to get to the NBA Finals — the Celtics were prohibitive favorites to win the Eastern Conference. while the Mavericks were mostly underdogs in the West — the series offers a contrasting scenario for viewers. 

“We always like to say that fans are very smart, and opportunities like this where you have genuine heat and genuine star power on a national stage should generate genuine interest in the series,” Kenny said. 

Headlining a new Finals announcing team for ABC is veteran play-by-play announcer Mike Breen along with two new analysts, J.J. Redick and Doris Burke, the first woman to announce an NBA Finals on television. Burke, who has announced the NBA Finals on ESPN Radio since 2020, said the appeal of young players like the Celtics’ Tatum and the Mavs’ Doncic should draw fans to the series.

“I don’t know what the ratings are going to say,” Burke said earlier this week during an NBA Finals conference call. “I can only tell you that I could not be more excited that two young stars are on the stage with an opportunity to grow viewership.”

Tegna said that five more of its TV stations in Texas will broadcast a package of Dallas Mavericks National Basketball Association games this season.

Tegna’s WFAA in Dallas previously announced plans to air the Mavericks games.

The additional stations are KCEN in Waco, KYTX in Tyler, KWES in Midland-Odessa, KIDY in San Angelo and KXVA in Abilene. 

“Providing access to games has always been our top priority,” said Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall. “We are thrilled to work with additional Tegna stations to bring more fun and excitement to our MFFLs [Mavs fans for life] across Texas.”

The move comes as more teams are putting games on broadcast because regional sports networks on cable are losing subscribers because of cord cutting. 

Tegna acquired the rights to broadcast the games in a deal with Diamond Sports Group, the bankrupt owner of Bally Sports Southwest.

“We are very proud to expand our partnership with the Dallas Mavericks, one of the hottest teams in the NBA coming out of the All-Star break, to make these important late-season games available to more fans across Texas,” said Brad Ramsey, senior VP of media operations for Tegna.  

The first game in the package air March 1 as the Mavericks take on the Boston Celtics.

Tegna-owned WFAA Dallas said it made a deal with the Dallas Mavericks to broadcast 10 more of the NBA team’s games this season.

WFAA had previously planned to air three Mavericks games free over-the-air. The 10 games added to the WFAA schedule will not be available on Bally Sports Southwest or the Bally Sports app, where most Mavs games can be viewed.

“We are very proud to partner with the Dallas Mavericks and to make these important late-season games available to every fan, and every household, in North Texas,” Brad Ramsey, senior VP of media operations for Tegna and president and general manager of WFAA, said. “As WFAA celebrates 75 years, we’ve long been the home for live, local sports and local sports fans and we look forward to cheering on the Mavs right alongside their fans and our viewers.”

WFAA’s announcement comes as more teams are shifting games to broadcast from cable, which is being impacted by cord-cutting. Some, like the Mavs, are moving a handful of games; others, like the Phoenix Suns or Utah Jazz, are putting the bulk of their games over the air in order to reach a larger audience.

The station said the games will be available to 3 million households and 7 million people in the Dallas-Forth Worth market.

“Providing access to games has always been our top priority,” Dallas Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall said. “We are thrilled to work with WFAA to bring more fun and excitement to our MFFLs across North Texas.”

The games on WFAA Will be announced by Mark Followill, in his 19th season as the Mavericks play-by-play announcer, Mavericks legends Derek Harper and Devin Harris, along with Jeff “Skin” Wade and Lesley McCaslin.  

WFAA will have pre- and postgame coverage from Dana Larson and Brian Dameris, and special appearances in some broadcasts by WFAA’s sports team of Joe Trahan, Mike Leslie and Jonah Javad. 

The games on WFAA will feature opponents including the Phoenix Suns, the Boston Celtics, the Philadelphia 76ers and the NBA champion Denver Nuggets.

AXS TV has secured the rights to Magnolia Pictures’ sports documentary on veteran NBA star Dirk Nowitzki.

The doc, Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot, will debut on the channel Oct. 29 and tells the story of the 13-time NBA All-Star, from his beginning playing German basketball to his run as the star of the Dallas Mavericks, including becoming the first non-American to lead his team to victory in the NBA Finals.

Produced by Emmy-winning filmmaker Leopold Hoesch, the documentary will feature interviews with Mavericks and AXS owner Mark Cuban, Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd and former NBA Commissioner David Stern.