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.

When a tornado suddenly turns up in Texas, viewers look for someone they truly trust. Typically, that’s WFAA Dallas-Fort Worth chief meteorologist Pete Delkus, B+C’s choice for Meteorologist of the Year. “There’s no one you’d rather have in the closet with you than Pete,” Carolyn Mungo, station manager at Tegna’s WFAA, said. 

It’s that quality of feeling like everyone’s best friend, while also being serious about forecasting, that has kept Delkus as WFAA’s chief meteorologist for the past two decades. “He has a delivery and presentation that draws you in,” Mungo said. “His is a calming voice during severe weather but he also knows how to have fun.”  

In an August broadcast, an on-screen weather map came up saying it was 101,105 degrees in McKinney, Texas. “Everyone in McKinney is dead,” Delkus deadpanned. The moment became a viral meme and wound up on T-shirts. 

Delkus is also a constant presence across WFAA’s social media platforms, including X, Facebook and Instagram. “His personality is such a driver for us at WFAA,” said Mungo, “and that’s not just on our linear platforms.”

Delkus spent his childhood dreaming of playing baseball, leading to six years in the minor leagues. He earned his degree in broadcast television from Southern Illinois University, thinking he would become a sportscaster once his baseball career ended. Instead, he found himself pressed into service as a weathercaster while working as an intern at WFTV Orlando, Florida. That led to him getting his degree in meteorology and the rest is history. 

“I feel so fortunate that I went from one fun, rewarding career to another that has provided my family and me with this wonderful life,” Delkus said. 

Jimmy Kimmel delivered an emotional monologue about the mass shooting at a Texas elementary school May 25 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and the monologue was interrupted by a commercial break on WFAA Dallas. An emotional Kimmel spoke for close to nine minutes about the murders, and gun control. He singled out Senator Ted Cruz and Texas governor Greg Abbott, among others, for their responsibility in such incidents. 

WFAA is owned by Tegna. The station said, “Unfortunately, the automated system that triggers commercials aired the first commercial break in error, interrupting Jimmy Kimmel’s monologue. The same technical error also impacted two commercial breaks later in the program, not just the one interrupting the monologue.”

WFAA apologized, and offered the full monologue at WFAA.com. The website’s headline read, “Jimmy Kimmel delivers powerful monologue in wake of Uvalde elementary school shooting, lambasting legislators for lack of action.” The story said. “Technical issues prevented the entirety of Kimmel's monologue from airing in full on WFAA.”

Nineteen children and two adults were killed in the mass shooting. 

Early on May 26, Kimmel said on Twitter, “To my friends in Dallas who are asking: I do not know whether our @ABCNetwork affiliate @wfaa cut away from my monologue tonight intentionally or inadvertently but I will find out. In the meantime, here's what you didn't get to see.”

He then offered a link to his monologue on YouTube. 

Moments ago, he tweeted, “I've known the staff at @wfaa personally and professionally for almost 20 years and believe this mistake was made unintentionally. Thanks for reposting and for correcting this error. Sending love to all my friends in Texas.”

WFAA shared a statement on the mishap: "WFAA apologizes for technical difficulties that interrupted Jimmy Kimmel Live at multiple points, including during his monologue on gun control."

In the monologue, Kimmel urged lawmakers who oppose gun control to rethink their position. “It’s OK to admit you made a mistake,” he said. “In fact it’s not just OK, it’s necessary to admit you made a mistake when your mistake is killing the children in your state."

“It takes a big person to do something like that,” Kimmel continued. “It takes a brave person to do something like that.” ■

Veteran WFAA-TV Dallas sports anchor Dale Hansen will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Radio Television Digital News Association.

The award will be handed out March 13 in Washington.

"Dale Hansen is nothing less than a Texas institution," said Dave Lougee, president of WFAA-TV owner TEGNA. "His contributions to sports broadcasting simply cannot be overstated. His excellence in reporting and straight-shooting commentaries have made indelible marks on our industry and our nation's civic discourse."

It is only the latest honor for the iconic sportscaster. As part of the team that investigated the SMU football "pay for play" scandal, Hansen shared a Peabody Award and duPont-Columbia Silver Baton.

Hansen also was honored at an LGBT event in Dallas in 2014 for a commentary on University of Missouri athlete Michael Sam's decision to announce he was gay.

His other awards include two time AP Sportscaster of the Year, UPI's Best Sportscaster, Texas Sportscaster of the Year, and American Women in Radio and Television's TV Personality of the Year.