Mavericks announces more details of the stream, including which providers will offer games

With the NBA regular season starting in less than a week, many Mavericks fans have been anxiously awaiting specific information on how to watch the team’s local broadcast.

In a joint announcement Thursday morning, the Mavericks and TEGNA Inc. filled in many of the blanks as to where and how fans can access these over-the-air broadcasts — for free, as previously announced.

The Mavericks said The News that another key piece of the puzzle for viewers, a streaming app, will be announced as early as next week.

As announced on September 6, WFAA-TV (Channel 8) and its parent company, TEGNA, have a multi-year agreement to broadcast the majority of Mavericks games, at least 70 this season, ending four decades of games broadcast regionally in Bally. Sports Southwest and its previous iterations.

At the time of the Sept. 6 announcement, the Mavericks and TEGNA estimated that 10 million people in Texas will have free access to the Mavericks broadcast. But it was announced Thursday that eight additional Texas stations will join six TEGNA-owned stations, expanding the broadcast footprint to an estimated 14 million Texans.

“Providing access to games has always been our top priority,” Mavericks CEO Cynt Marshall said in Thursday’s press release. “We are excited to work with WFAA to bring more fun and excitement to all of our MFFLs in North Texas and beyond.”

How and where will viewers be able to watch? Those questions have burned with increasing intensity with defending Western Conference champion Dallas opening the regular season on Oct. 24 against San Antonio, though that game will be televised nationally on TNT.

All 70 or more games not scheduled to air exclusively nationally will air locally on TEGNA’s KFAA (Channel 29), formerly known as KMPX, a Spanish content station.

From Sunday, Channel 29 will launch new programming. Of the 70 or more games that will be broadcast on Channel 29 and 13 stations in Texas and Shreveport, La., at least 15 of the games will be simulcast on WFAA (Channel 8).

For weeks, local fans have been wondering if their cable, satellite or streaming service will carry the new Channel 29. The Mavericks say Channel 29 will be available through these providers:

AT&T U-verse TV; Charter Spectrum; DIRECTV; DISH; Frontier Fiber Keller; Fubo; JESUS; Grande Communications, OneSource Communications and Optimum.

Fans who do not subscribe to any of these providers can still access Channel 29 with the use of a digital antenna, a one-time purchase that usually costs between $25 and $55.

The remaining option for fans will be the soon-to-be-announced Mavericks streaming service/app. It’s unclear if the app will be similar to the free Victory+ app released this season by the Dallas Stars.

The bottom line is that at least four times as many fans in Dallas-Fort Worth and across Texas will have access to Mavericks broadcasts. Free, apart from a possible antenna purchase.

TEGNA and WFAA lead local and regional advertising and sponsorship sales.

“We are thrilled by the positive response from fans and advertising partners as we prepare to significantly expand the reach of Mavericks games,” TEGNA senior vice president of media relations Brad Ramsey said in Thursday’s announcement . “We’re grateful to our station partners at Gray, Nexstar and Sinclair for helping us create more excitement, for more fans, in even more Texas homes.”

On September 6, TEGNA and the Mavericks announced that TEGNA stations in Abilene (KXVA), Midland-Odessa (KWES), San Angelo (KIDY), Tyler (KYTX) and Waco (KCEN and KAGS) would broadcast the games from Dallas

On Thursday, these additional stations were announced: Amarillo’s KFDA 10.2 (Independent-Gray); El Paso’s KDBC 4.2 (MyNetworkTV-Sinclair); Harlingen-Brownsville’s KGBT 4.1 (MyNetworkTV-Nexstar); Laredo’s KXNU 10.2 (Gray Sports-Gray); Lubbock’s KMYL 14.1 (MyNetworkTV-Gray); Sherman’s KXII 12.2 (MyNetwork TV-Gray); Shreveport’s and Texarkana, Texas, KSHV 45.1 (MyNetworkTV-Nexstar); and KJBO 3.2 in Wichita Falls and Lawton, Okla. (MyNetworkTV-Nexstar).

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