Trail Blazers drop ROOT Sports, new broadcasting plans yet to be revealed

Watching the Portland Trail Blazers next season will look a little different for fans as the team announced Wednesday, Aug. 14 they'll be leaving ROOT Sports a year early for a to-be-announced plan.

“Trail Blazers basketball will no longer air on ROOT Sports, but we thank ROOT Sports for years of great partnership,” the Blazers announced in a statement. “An exciting announcement on the future television home of Blazers basketball will be made soon.”

The Blazers have broadcasted games on ROOT the last two seasons after spending the previous 14 years with NBC Sports Northwest. The contract with ROOT Sports was a three-year deal.

However, teams like the Phoenix Suns and Utah Jazz have shifted to more direct to consumer type of streams and working with local broadcasters to make watching games more accessible for local fans. Many expect the Blazers to be following a similar path, which the Seattle Kraken did with ROOT Sports as well.

For now, fans will await the announcement from the team on where the games will head next with the preseason set to begin Oct. 11.