The NBA is attempting to address the local media rights of it’s franchises ahead of the upcoming season this fall. According to the Sports Business Journal, the league has hired veteran media executive Matt Volk as a newly created role of general manager of local Media, effective June 22.
What We Know: Volk arrives from NESN and SportsNet Pittsburgh, where he served as COO for three years. He will lead a newly formed local media group covering both the NBA and WNBA. His team will handle live game production, broadcast operations, programming, and commercial execution across all team markets.
What’s At Stake: A national streaming package expected to launch in 2027. Meanwhile, the focus for Volk will be maintaining standing with local teams. Headed into the new season this fall, 13 NBA teams will no longer lean on FanDuel Sports Network as their local distribution model. This was the fallout from the collapse of Main Street Sports Group. Following incidents of not making financial payments to it’s partner franchises in early 2026.
What Remains Unclear: The full scope of Volk’s job duties is unknown. It is unclear how many staff members his team will ultimately include. However, a national streaming package for local NBA games will likely launch for the 2027-28 season. How local rights agreements with individual teams are structured around that launch remains an open question.
What It Means: The NBA understands that local rights are just as vital as the national rights. With thirteen teams aiming for a new local distribution home, the league is allocating assets to assist in aligning for a national streaming package to launch the season after next. Volk brings deep experience from ESPN, Audacy, and NBC Sports Washington among other places. His background spans both sides of the NBA and WNBA. The league is clearly building infrastructure ahead of a major shift in how fans access local games in the very near future.
John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
