More of what you need to know about Heat’s move to WPLG. And World Cup TV primer
A six-pack of additional notes on the Heat’s move to WPLG-10:
▪ The telecasts will sound a lot like FanDuel Sun’s, with Eric Reid and John Crotty on the call. But some of the ancillary programming will change.
WPLG doesn’t want to preempt “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy,” which are cash cows for local stations, and won’t air a pregame show for 7 p.m. or 7:40 p.m. games.
The station will carry a full half-hour postgame show, with coach Erik Spoelstra’s comments, if the game doesn’t run long. If the game runs longer than usual, the postgame show will be shorter, because WPLG doesn’t want to make a habit of delaying its late newscast.
▪ Five local providers dropped WPLG after it ditched its ABC affiliation last year — Dish Network, YouTube TV, DirecTV streaming, Hulu and Fubo. Of that group, WPLG is hopeful that deals can be struck with YouTube TV and DirecTV streaming, at the very least.
A DirecTV source said there would be interest in a reunion with WPLG.
Hulu is considered unlikely to add WPLG because Hulu and ABC share the same parent company (Disney) and has no incentive to help a station that’s no longer an ABC affiliate.
▪ Homes in South Palm Beach county who get WPLG through Comcast or another provider can watch the games on Channel 10. But nobody even a single block north of the Broward County line can watch Heat games on the station’s app, WPLG Plus Platinum, which will stream the games free of charge in Miami-Dade and Broward.
Whereas FanDuel Sports Sun could carry or stream Heat games into West Palm Beach, Jupiter, Port St. Lucie, Naples and Fort Myers, WPLG cannot because there are different rules for over-the-air TV stations.
The Heat is expected to add a TV affiliate in West Palm Beach and potentially Naples, which would cover the remainder of Heat broadcast territory.
▪ According to WPLG, every Smart television has the capacity to display the station’s new app — which will carry the games for free — except Vizio.
So if you have a Vizio television, and live in Miami-Dade or Broward, you would either need a new TV to stream the games or switch to a provider that still carries WPLG, such as Comcast, Breezeline or DirecTV satellite.
Another option for homes without WPLG-10 on their cable or satellite provider: Buy an in-home antenna to watch the games. The video might not be perfect, but it should suffice.
▪ The Heat’s TV rights fee will drop, which is inevitable for the dozen teams that are leaving the soon-to-be-shuttered FanDuel networks.
The Heat reportedly received $55 million a year from Main Street Sports, which is FanDuel’s parent company. Main Street stopped paying the team early last season.
The new rights fee is undisclosed but is “believed to be well above” $10 million in a one-year deal, per Sports Business Journal.
▪ The dozen Heat games that were simulcast last season on WPLG — which is owned by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway — averaged more than twice the audience of Heat games that aired only FanDuel. And that impacted the Heat’s decision to put its entire package on an over-the-air station.
The Heat would like to retain the association with WPLG past next season, but the NBA also might offer a centralized streaming platform for all teams beginning in 2027-28. The Heat explored a streaming deal with DAZN and Victory Plus but ultimately opted for the wide distribution of an exclusive deal with WPLG.
World Cup primer
A quick overview on World Cup TV coverage when the tournament begins on Thursday:
▪ Fox will air 72 of the 104 matches, with 40 in prime time. FS-1 will carry the other 32 games, including two in the Round of 32.
Viewers without access to FS-1 can watch Fox’s broadcast of all 104 matches through the Fox One app, which is offering free subscriptions.
▪ In order to avoid any overlapping matches during the first 14 days of the tournament, FS-1 will carry three games at midnight Eastern Time: Australia-Turkey on Saturday from Vancouver, Austria-Jordan on June 16 from Santa Clara, Cal., and Tunisia-Japan June 20 from Monterrey, Mexico.
▪ The first simultaneous matches of the tournament will be on Wednesday, June 24, when Brazil plays Scotland on Fox at 6 p.m. in Miami Gardens and Morocco plays Haiti at 6 p.m. on FS 1, in Atlanta.
▪ The semifinals, from Atlanta, will be at 3 p.m. July 14 and 15 (a Tuesday and Wednesday) on Fox, with the championship game on Fox at 3 p.m. on Sunday, July 19, from East Rutherford, New Jersey.
▪ Tubi, the streaming service which is owned by Fox, will simulcast the opening ceremonies and a few games, including United States-Paraguay on June 12.
▪ John Strong and Stu Holden are Fox’s lead team, and Ian Darke and Landon Donovan are essentially the No. 2 team among Fox’s nine World Cup announcing groups.
▪ Longtime NFL quarterback Jameis Winston will deliver whimsical and quirky segments as a Fox network correspondent.
▪ On Spanish television, Telemundo will carry 92 games and place the other 12 on its sister network Universo.
Andres Cantor, whose “Goal!!!!!!!!!!!” calls have made him the sport’s most recognizable voice in both English and Spanish households, will call a bunch of games, including the final, with Luis Omar Tapia.
▪ Though Fox has U.S. English-language TV rights, Peacock — NBC’s streaming service — has U.S. Spanish streaming rights and will present all 104 games via its Peacock Premium app, which costs $10.99 per month.
Telemundo’s games also are available on its app.
▪ Coverage begins with Mexico vs. South Africa at 3 p.m. Thursday on Fox, which carries the United States’ first match (against Paraguay) at 9 p.m. Friday from Los Angeles.
This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 10:41 AM.
