ATLANTA—Cox Media Group (CMG) has announced two multi-year NBA local broadcast rights agreements with the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets that will see Cox stations and services airing live games from the NBA teams in their local markets.

Under these agreements CMG will air the Orlando Magic in Orlando and across Central Florida on WRDQ-TV 27 and WFTV Channel 9.

In Jacksonville and across Northeast Florida, games will primarily air on the newly created Action Sports Jax TV available on WJAX-TV 47.2, with games also airing on WJAX-TV 47 and WFOX-TV 30.

In Charlotte and across the Carolinas, CMG will air Charlotte Hornets’ regular-season games on WAXN-TV 64 and WSOC-TV. This is the first time in 27 years that Hornets’ games will be broadcast for free over-the-air.

“Local sports belong to the fans and they belong on broadcast television to best serve those fans and local communities,” said Dan York, President and CEO of Cox Media Group. “For decades, CMG has worked to earn trust by delivering essential local journalism, reliable weather, traffic, entertainment, and community-focused programming. Expanding our sports programming is another way we deepen our local connections, allow fans to follow their teams, and create value for local businesses. We are pleased to announce multi-year deals with the Orlando Magic and Charlotte Hornets to bring their games to their local fans over broadcast television.”

CMG expects to share additional schedules, coverage plans, and programming details as each market prepares for the upcoming NBA season and the launch of Action Sports Jax TV.

ATLANTA—The Charlotte Hornets, Gray Media, Capitol Broadcasting and FanDuel Sports Southeast have reached an agreement to simulcast five games this season in various markets throughout North Carolina and South Carolina via the Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Network and other Gray affiliates. Capitol Broadcasting Company will distribute the games in the Raleigh, N.C. market.

This agreement marks the first time Hornets basketball has aired on local, free over-the-air television since the 2007-08 NBA season and will provide fans with more ways to watch Hornets basketball.

“We’re excited to partner with Gray Media’s Palmetto Sports & Entertainment Network to make our FanDuel Sports Southeast broadcasts available to a wider audience across the Carolinas,” said Hornets president of business operations Shelly Cayette-Weston. “As an organization, we remain committed to growing our fanbase, extending the reach of our TV audience and making our broadcasts more accessible to all.”

In addition to the local over-the-air stations, all five games will also be available on FanDuel Sports Southeast.

The five-game over-the-air television schedule (showing date, opponent and time) is:

• Jan. 27, Los Angeles Lakers, 7 pm
• Jan. 31, Los Angeles Clippers, 7 pm
• Feb. 5, Milwaukee Bucks, 7 pm
• Feb. 27, at Dallas Mavericks, 8:30 pm
• March 3, Golden State Warriors, 7 pm

MAYWOOD, N.J.—The NBA’s Charlotte Hornets may have gone back in time when they switched from the Charlotte Bobcats back to its original mascot, but that doesn’t mean the rest of the franchise isn’t moving forward. When the Hornet’s home arena, the Time Warner Cable Arena, made the transition to HD it went with the Ikegami HDK-95C full digital portable CMOS camera systems.

The franchise went with four HDK-95C cameras to replace Ikegami’s HL-60W cameras, which had been used since 2005. All video from the cameras is distributed to the arena’s LED screens and in-house TVs. The cameras are used for the Hornet’s 41, or more, home games as well as additional events like NCAA basketball, monster truck events and circuses.

Part of Ikegami’s Unicam HD line, the HDK-95C comes with Native multi-format 2.5 million pixel, 2/3-inch CMOS sensors. There is also an upgrade path to 24p and 3G formats, including 1080/60p and 4:4:4 24p. Additional features include focus assist, OCP-300 operation control panels, and a 24-inch monitor.