Gray Television continued to add local sports to its stations, announcing that its WVUE will televise 10 New Orleans Pelicans basketball games this season.
The Atlanta Hawks last week announced that 10 of its NBA regular season games would be airing on Gray stations.
Pelicans games will be airing on WVUE’s main signal, which normally carries Fox network programming, and on one of its digital channels, which carries Bounce, the E.W. Scripps-owned digital broadcast network.
Gray will also televise Pelicans games on stations in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Monroe and Alexandria, Louisiana; Biloxi, Jackson, Hattiesburg and Meridian, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama.
Gray said it will seek stations in other markets to also air the games.
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The move comes as cable regional sports networks are losing viewers to cord-cutting and teams and leagues are turning to broadcast for greater reach.
“The Pelicans welcome the opportunity to partner with Gray Television in this 10-game deal that will provide over-the-air viewing access to Pelicans games for more than 3 million households and over seven million people across the Gulf South region,” New Orleans Pelicans president Dennis Lauscha said.
In addition to their over-the-air signals, Gray notes that its stations are also carried by major cable and satellite distributors.
Calling the Pelicans broadcasts will be play-by-play announcer Joel Meyers, former NBA star and color analyst Antonio Daniels and sideline reporter Jennifer Hale.
“We know people in this region are passionate about their sports. We are thrilled to partner with the Pelicans and make these games available for all fans,” said New Orleans resident and Pelicans fan Sandy Breland, who is also Gray’s chief operating officer.