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Hornets’ local TV deal will enhance community accessibility, fans say

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CHARLOTTE — The Charlotte Hornets will return to free, local TV and it’s happening on Channel 9 and TV64.

We’ll be airing five games in the coming weeks.

The announcement is a win for Channel 9 and a win for Hornets’ fans expanding accessibility to the on-court product on a free, over-the-air television signal for the first time in 17 years.

The man who helped “Bring the Buzz Back” to the Queen City was especially excited to hear about the move.

“As a Hornets fan and most of the fans that are members or season ticket holders, they’d like to see it on local TV every game,” said Evan Kent, the founder of The Crown Club.

Kent grew up a Hornets fan falling in love with the team back when the only hurdle to watching a game was finding the TV remote.

“I would not have been able to fall in love with the Hornets when I was young if it wasn’t something that I was able to get on the radio as accessibly as it was or see it on local TV,” Kent said.

Over a decade ago, Kent and his brother, Scotty, spearheaded the Bring Back the Buzz campaign, a grassroots effort to return the Hornets’ name and branding to the franchise.

They’ve since founded The Crown Club, which has the goal of growing the fan base but one of its hurdles has been how difficult it is to watch the games.

“If you’re a cord-cutter, it’s been getting more and more difficult to have access to the Hornets games, so it’s been hard to grow the fan base,” he said.

There is now an opportunity for a new generation to fall in love with the team with that hurdle lifted.

Watch the Charlotte Hornets on Ch. 9 and TV64
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