The New Orleans Pelicans are in “advanced discussions” with Fox 8 New Orleans to have 10 games broadcast on local and free over-the-air television waves, per NOLA.com's Christian Clark. It is a huge move for a franchise looking to solidify thier contender status and further engage a fan base starved of access to the team.

Bally Sports Live-Broadcasting Reasons For Bankruptcy

It has been difficult to watch the Pelicans over the past decade, literally and figuratively. Fan complaints that the team is either hurt or has too many holes to make a playoff appearance have merit. Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram being available has greatly improved this season's on-court experience, but Bally Sports going broke is being broadcast live, sort of. Their options to watch the games work only on occasion and production quality is minimal. Worse, it costs fans $19.99 per month for the right to be frustrated with the non-functioning technology.

These negotiations are possible thanks to the bankruptcy filings by Bally Sports. The bankruptcy allows for each team to broadcast up to 10 games with new over-the-air television partners. Bally's rights to the Pelicans will expire after this season.

However, don't get your hopes up yet fans. Negotiations still have to wrap up and all the technical logistics from Fox 8 have to be worked out. A deal is “unlikely to be finalized until mid-to-late December,” per the report.

The Pelicans do not have a Christmas Day game, but they do close out 2023 with three straight home games. Ja Morant's Memphis Grizzlies come to the Smoothie King Center the day after Christmas. LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers close out the calendar on New Year's Eve. In between is a revenge date with the Utah Jazz (12/28). Perhaps fans unable to be in the building can catch the full 48 minutes before safely celebrating the end of the holiday season.

Pelicans Get Up To 10 Practice Runs

The 10 games to be broadcast on Fox 8 are yet to be decided. However, any partnership allows the Pelicans a test run regarding the viability of OTA broadcasting. The Jazz and Phoenix Suns have already converted to the OTA model instead of a subscription-based service. For New Orleans, going full-time OTA next season would increase the number of households from 700,000 to approximately 7 million when accounting for all Fox affiliates that would be able to feature Zion Williamson and the Pelicans in prime time.

A local OTA deal would free up those using streaming platforms as well. Currently, Williamson and Ingram cannot be seen on YouTube TV and Hulu Live. The Pelicans have won five of their last six home games. They've not been defeated with Williamson suiting up at home since November 12 versus the Dallas Mavericks, and Brandon Ingram is starting to find his rhythm.

The Pelicans have also posted a 36-point victory over Sacramento (11/20), a comfortable 21-point win over the Mavericks in the return of Herb Jones, and a five-point win against the Denver Nuggets. The schedule only gets easier from here for Williamson and Ingram. The team's future looks brighter than ever.

Thankfully, Gulf South fans living just too far away to regulalry attend games might get to watch their favorite team for free sooner rather than later.