Heat’s run on FanDuel cable comes to end, with no local postseason telecasts
MIAMI — With Sunday night’s regular-season finale comes the end of an era for the Miami Heat, the matchup against the Atlanta Hawks at Kaseya Center the final telecast on FanDuel Sports Network. With the outlet ceasing operations, the Heat next will either turn to a streaming platform or local outlet, such as the one the Florida Panthers went with on Scripps Sports with their over-the-air telecasts this season. For the immediate future, there also will be no local telecasts of wherever the postseason might take Erik Spoelstra’s team .
All games in the play-in round, which is where the Heat are seeded , will be telecast solely on Amazon Prime’s streaming channel, with no local option. All playoff games will be handled by national outlets, with the NBA no longer allowing local broadcasts during the opening round of the playoffs, as had been the case in previous years, before the new national-broadcast contract went into effect this season. If the Heat advance through the play-in round to the playoffs, they would face the Detroit Pistons in a series opening April 19.
For those following the Heat, it is a hard stop for the season for game-night coverage from Eric Reid, John Crotty and the Heat’s television wing. The Heat’s Jason Jackson and Amy Audibert will continue providing coverage throughout the Heat’s postseason run on the team’s radio outlets, including WQAM in South Florida, with Spanish radio coverage continuing on WQBA 1140 AM with José Pañeda and Joe Pujala. Like the Miami Marlins, who moved to a streaming approach with coverage this season in the wake of Major League Baseball’s local packages ending with FanDuel, the NBA is expected to move ahead with such an approach next season.
As with select Marlins games this season, the Heat also could find an over-the-air home, with select games this past season having been simulcast on Local 10 WPLG. The Heat, Hawks, Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Pacers, Clippers, Grizzlies, Bucks, Timberwolves, Thunder, Magic and Spurs all have deals expiring with the soon-to-cease FanDuel-branded outlets. Related Articles At least the Heat are play-in legends, as another ‘harrowing’ ride awaits ASK IRA: Time for NBA to cook the books in Heat favor after Hornets/Rozier fiasco?
Breaking down all the Heat’s play-in, lottery possibilities heading into Sunday’s finale Ira Winderman: Wins up, seed similar, season sideways for Heat ASK IRA: Will it get worse before it gets better for the Heat? According to a report in the Sports Business Journal , “the NBA is urging teams to sign one-year deals or packages with at least a one-year exit clause, in the event the league does not launch a national streaming platform until the 2027-28 season. But sources said there is a sense multiple teams could shift to a streaming-only template for next season with platforms such as DAZN or Victory+ — which would be a first for NBA teams.