(Image credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT—The Detroit Pistons have announced a new local media television rights agreement with Scripps Sports beginning with the 2026‑27 NBA season. The deal returns Pistons basketball to local free, over‑the‑air television for the first time since 2005
Financial terms were not disclosed.
The agreement is part of an ongoing push by Scripps to expand its sports programming. Notably, the deal is Scripps’ eighth with a major professional league franchise and its first with an NBA team.
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In addition to the Pistons, this lineup includes: WNBA (Las Vegas Aces), NHL (Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, Utah Mammoth, Nashville Predators) and NWSL (Denver Summit).
Under the agreement with the Pistons, WMYD TV20 Detroit, owned and operated by The E.W. Scripps Company, will become the official local broadcast home of the Detroit Pistons. TV20 Detroit will produce and air all locally available pre-season and regular season games.
Fans will be able to watch games for free via over‑the‑air television as well as through participating cable and satellite providers in Detroit, the Detroit metro area and the state of Michigan.
Scripps, which operates both TV20 Detroit and WXYZ (Detroit’s ABC affiliate), said it will pair WXYZ’s award-winning local news leadership with TV20 Detroit’s broadcast platform to deliver comprehensive Pistons coverage for fans throughout the market.
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“This partnership with Scripps Sports is an exciting moment for the Detroit Pistons,” said Arn Tellem, vice chairman of the Detroit Pistons. “Basketball has always been deeply woven into the fabric of our city, and we’re proud to expand access to our games. We look forward to partnering with Scripps to deliver outstanding broadcasts and programming that reflects the energy, pride and passion of Detroit.”
“Over-the-air broadcasting has proven to be one of the most powerful ways to connect sports teams with their fans,” said Brian Lawlor, president of Scripps Sports. “As we are seeing right now, the fandom around the Pistons is high and every fan deserves to have access to Detroit Pistons games. Scripps Sports is proud to partner with the Pistons to deliver their games to more fans than ever before – because the best team in the East deserves the best broadcast platform in the NBA.”
As part of the partnership, the Pistons and Scripps Sports will produce comprehensive game‑day coverage, including pregame, in‑game and postgame programming. The agreement also includes a weekly, half‑hour Pistons show, along with original team‑focused content integrated across broadcasts and digital programming across Scripps’ family of channels.