WPLG Local 10 is locking in as the new local TV home of Miami HEAT basketball across South Florida under an expanded media-rights deal announced Monday. Starting with the 2026–27 NBA season, the station says it will carry every HEAT game that is not picked up by national broadcasters, along with team specials and exclusive content, all free over the air. The station and the team say the move will put HEAT broadcasts within reach of roughly 5.8 million viewers across the region.
Deal Details and What Fans Get
Under the agreement, WPLG becomes the local destination for any Miami HEAT game that is not on a national network. The package includes marquee team specials such as the Miami HEAT Annual Gala and the HEAT Family Festival special, which will air on Local 10 alongside regular-season action.
"We are thrilled to be the One and Only, Home of the Miami HEAT," WPLG President & CEO Bert Medina said. Miami HEAT executive Michael McCullough pointed to the partnership's bigger local footprint as a clear win for fans who want easier access to games.
According to Local 10, the deal will make games available to about 5.8 million viewers across South Florida. The full 2026–27 broadcast schedule will be released after the NBA publishes its official calendar later this summer.
Streaming and Local Limits
Alongside the over-the-air broadcasts, Local 10 is leaning into its Local10+ Platinum streaming service so fans can watch on phones, tablets and smart TVs. The app's listing notes support for Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire and other smart-TV platforms, plus DVR and cross-device features, according to the App Store.
Local 10 says the platform will offer two feeds: a live WPLG broadcast and a 24-hour Local 10 news stream. Because of programming restrictions, the live WPLG channel is only available inside Miami-Dade, Broward and Monroe counties, which means in-market viewers can stream HEAT games while fans outside the region can still follow Local 10 news coverage worldwide.
Background and What’s Next
The newly expanded agreement builds on an earlier 2025 partnership in which Local 10 carried a smaller slate of games. Local 10 had aired 12 HEAT regular-season matchups in 2025–26, according to a previous report, setting the stage for this broader rights package.
The timing also lines up with WPLG's move to a local-first strategy after the station split from ABC last year, a shift that industry observers say has pushed broadcasters to chase local sports rights more aggressively. As Local 10 reported in 2025 and as Radio & Television Business Report noted, combining free over-the-air windows with proprietary streaming platforms helps stations expand their audience while creating new ways to monetize content.
The HEAT and Local 10 say they will publish the full 2026–27 broadcast calendar after the NBA posts its official schedule later this summer. Until then, fans can get set by downloading the Local10+ Platinum app or dusting off their antenna-ready TVs to be ready when the regular season tips off.
