MIAMI — For the first time in over a decade, locally produced Miami Heat games will be available this season on free, over-the-air television.
As part of the makeover of Miami’s Local 10 (WPLG) from an ABC affiliate, the Heat are moving a set of simulcast FanDuel Sports Network Florida games this coming season to the over-the-air station, broadcasts that will require neither a cable package nor streaming service.
The move is made in conjunction with the team’s cable and streaming package with FanDuel Sports Network Florida Sun, which will continue to produce the events and feature the broadcasts on its outlets, as well.
The 12-game Local 10 package, mostly of Saturday games, begins with the Nov. 8 home game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
The Heat’s agreement with Local 10 follows the Florida Panthers’ full-time move last season to free, over-the-air broadcasts on Scripps Sports, carried on WSFL in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale market and WHDT in the Palm Beach market. WSFL this past season also carried 15 simulcast FanDuel Sports Network Florida broadcasts of Miami Marlins games, further increasing the inventory of South Florida sports on free television.
While Heat games have been available on Local 10 previously, that was when the station was the South Florida affiliate of ABC, with those only a limited amount of national broadcasts.
ABC and NBC stations also are carrying select national NBA telecasts this season, with the Heat not on ABC’s schedule and scheduled on NBC (NBC6 in South Florida) only on Jan. 6 against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
Local 10, whose sports director, Will Manso, is featured on Heat broadcasts as a studio host and sideline reporter, is allowed under its Heat agreement to carry up to 12 regular-season FanDuel simulcasts.
Locally produced Heat games last were broadcast on free, over-the-air television in South Florida on WBFS in 2003-04, before the first of the franchise’s three championships. Locally produced over-the-air Heat games also were featured on WAMI in South Florida from 1998 to 2000, with a broadcast team that featured current ESPN NBA announcer Mark Jones.
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From there, locally produced Heat broadcasts moved to what had been Sunshine Network, Fox Sports Florida, Bally Sports Sun and now is FanDuel Sports Network Florida Sun.
Under the NBA’s new television contracts, Heat national broadcasts will be featured on a variety of outlets this season, including NBC, ESPN, Amazon Prime and Peacock, with the latter two requiring streaming subscriptions.
In addition to adding Heat inventory, Local 10 also will broadcast 12 select simulcasts of FanDuel Sports Network broadcasts of the Heat’s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce.
