Gray Media is forming a new venture called Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network that will carry all of the locally televised games of the NBA’s New Orleans Pelicans.

Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment will be anchored by Gray’s WVUE in New Orleans .

Also carrying Pelicans games over the air are Gray’s Louisiana stations in Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lake Charles, Monroe and Alexandria.

The games will also be on Gray’s stations in Biloxi, Jackson, Hattiesburg and Meridian, Mississippi, and Mobile, Alabama.

Gray and the Pelicans said the new network will reach 4.1 million households, 16 times its reach on the Bally Sports New Orleans regional network owned by bankrupt Diamond Sports Group .

Several teams have been abandoning cable-based regional sports networks in favor of local broadcasters.

“Gray Media is thrilled to be able to leverage our resources to connect our loyal viewers with the growing number of Pelicans fans across the Gulf South,” Gray Media chief operating officer Sandy Breland said. “The Pelicans are putting their fans first as now all fans will have the ability to watch the games free over-the-air or through any basic cable, satellite service, or streaming provider that carries the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network.”

“This partnership with Gray Media represents our commitment to our fans, community, and partners across Louisiana and the Gulf South,” added Pelicans Governor Gayle Benson. “Our focus has been to make Pelicans games accessible to as many fans as possible, and this deal means that Pelicans games will now be available to millions of more fans with this free, over-the-air broadcast product.”

In New Orleans, WVUE will air at least eight Pelicans regular season games and all available post-season games, with the remaining regular season games airing on the Gulf Coast Sports & Entertainment Network.

The first New Orleans Pelicans game will air live on WVUE and simulcast on GCSEN October 23 when the Pelicans take on the Chicago Bulls.

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C , Jon covered the industry for TVWeek , Cable World , Electronic Media , Advertising Age and The New York Post . A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.