OKC Thunder games staying on Bally Sports Oklahoma for 2024-25 season

Thunder fans might not be questioning their viewership plans for this season much longer.

Diamond Sports , the parent company of Bally Sports, made progress in its Chapter 11 case Friday, proposing a new agreement with the NBA that would allow it to continue televising games for the remaining 13 teams involved, at least through the 2024-25 season .

The agreement is still subject to court approval, with a hearing slated for Sept. 3, so there’s been no official announcement from the Thunder. But all signs point to the Thunder returning to Bally Sports, which will rebrand this upcoming season as Fanduel Sports.

Any continuation of a partnership beyond the 2024-25 season depends on Diamond Sports’ attempts to climb out of bankruptcy.

“We have reached a new agreement with Diamond Sports Group for the 2024-25 season in which Diamond RSNs will telecast local games for 13 NBA teams,” an NBA spokesperson said. “The Dallas Mavericks and New Orleans Pelicans declined to continue distributing their games on Diamond RSNs and will share more details soon on how to watch games for the upcoming season in their respective markets. This new agreement is subject to approval by the bankruptcy court.”

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While it was surely impossible for Thunder to ignore fans’ grievances with the Bally package — the app’s accessibility, price point or general clunkiness — a return to Bally would provide some security with the NBA’s regular season just two months out.

Plus, while opting for an over-the-air model — similar to the Phoenix Suns, the Dallas Mavericks, the Utah Jazz — could certainly lead to more viewers, it would likely take time to amount to the revenue teams will receive in fees from Bally.

After what seemed to be a successful eight-game trial of a partnership with Griffin Media’s KSBI this past season, one could assume that the Thunder could’ve chosen the over-the-air route, reducing any panic had the Thunder been left out of the agreement.

But, pending a ruling from the bankruptcy court, OKC will seemingly move forward with Diamond instead of any contingency plan.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: OKC Thunder games staying on Bally Sports Oklahoma for 2024-25 season