NBA’s Kings score local rights deal

NBA basketball franchise the Sacramento Kings have announced a broadcast partnership for the 2013-14 season with News10, the local affiliate of the ABC network.

After partnering with the Kings in 2006-07 and 2012-13, News10 will broadcast 11 games during the forthcoming season.

Coverage will begin with the Kings’ clash against the Denver Nuggets on October 30, with the game being broadcast on a commercial-free basis.

The Kings enter the 2013-14 season with the promise of stability following years of uncertainty. Owners the Maloof family in May agreed to sell the franchise to a local group led by Vivek Ranadive effectively ending talk of the team being moved to another market.

“No one was more excited than we were about the decision to keep the Kings in Sacramento," News10 general manager Maria Barrs said. “This is a pivotal year, and a commercial-free opening game is a great chance for fans to tune-in and rediscover why Kings basketball is so exciting and so important to this community.”