The Indiana Pacers were able to make the NBA Finals two years ago when they were fully healthy. Fans enjoyed watching their team on local TV, which was provided by Fox Sports Indiana, which was rebranded to Bally Sports Indiana, and eventually to FanDuel Sports. For most customers, that was provided for free by most providers.
Heading into next season, Indiana announced a new television partner. They will now be broadcasting all of their games through DAZN, which is similar to several other NBA teams. However, fans are not pleased with this development.
GettyIndiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton reacts during a game.(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
Pacers Fans Furious Over New TV Broadcast Partner
Fans will now have to purchase a package through DAZN in order to stream all of the games. If the package is purchased before October 15, it will cost $59.99. If ordered after that, the entire package will cost $119.99. A monthly subscription can be purchased for $19.99, as well.
After the announcement, fans took to social media to crush the team for forcing them to pay even more to watch the team, especially in local markets.
Fans are frustrated that they now have to switch to another broadcast partner, which will cost them more money. As many noted, several other NBA teams have opted to allow games to be streamed over the air locally. It doesn’t seem that option will be provided for all of the games for the Pacers.
Local TV contracts are a hot topic of conversation in NBA circles. The NBA lost a bunch of money on these contracts, despite signing a major national broadcast deal. Local broadcasts have been flapping in the wind ever since FOX decided to sell of the RSN networks.
As far as Pacers fans are concerned, this announcement comes at a bad time. Indiana won just 19 games a year ago. Even with Tyrese Haliburton returning, there is no promise that this team will immediately return to being a title contender. Forcing fans to pony up more money after the team was so bad is a bad look.
GettyIndiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton shoots the ball in a game. (Photo by Kyle Terada – Pool/Getty Images)
Indiana Will Have to Prove to Fans They Are Worth the New Price
In order to appease fans, the Pacers will have to prove that they are worth paying this giant new price. If they turn into a title contender again, fans will likely not complain about paying the massive new price. However, there is a good chance the team loses viewership over this decision.
With the Fever opting to put games on locally through the airwaves, they are increasing their viewership. Indiana should try to do the same with more games than they are committing to now. However, there are no plans to do that at the moment.
Last year, Indiana had the third-worst offense in the league. In order for fans to pay this new price, that number is going to have to improve greatly.
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