University of Hawaii athletic director Matt Elliott hopes UH sports can ride a wave of on-field and on-court success during the 2025-26 sports year into a new broadcast deal with Hawaii News Now that replaces cable with free live over-the-air telecasts.
Speaking on HNN on Thursday, hours after the official announcement, Elliott said he is not worried that the widened broadcast access could cut into paid attendance.
“I think we’ll have both,” Elliott said during an interview with HNN’s Steve Uyehara. “When you come off a year like we just had with so much momentum, you see the football team win a bowl game, the basketball team win the conference championship and go to the NCAAs, and the men’s volleyball team win the national championship, we have fans who love these teams, love our programs and want to be there in person, but they can’t always be there and we want everyone to be able to watch the game.”
HNN will broadcast at least 110 home games during each year of the four-year deal that officially starts July 1 and is valued at approximately $7.5 million,” according to UH’s news release announcing the deal.
A 15-year relationship with Spectrum (previously Oceanic) comes to an end.
HNN’s network includes K5 (which was previously the home of UH sports for nearly 20 years), KGMB (CBS), and KHNL (NBC/Telemundo), “nearly doubling the number of television households able to watch local broadcasts of the ’Bows,” according to UH’s release. “K5 broadcasts will also be available nationally through the new Mountain West app, significantly expanding access to Rainbow Warrior and Rainbow Wahine athletics beyond Hawaii.”
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UH students will be involved in broadcasting some games beyond the 110 minimum, Elliott said.
“We’re going to do a campus-led production of other games,” Elliott said, adding that some of those games will be broadcast by Mountain West Conference platforms and some by HNN.
There will also be a “Warrior Fast” channel with 24-7 access to features, classic games and other content, the athletic director said.
Elliott confirmed during his interview with Uyehara on Thursday that Kanoa Leahey will remain as the primary TV play-by-play voice for UH sports. A university spokesperson declined comment on any other personnel issues.
“We are honored to support UH Athletics’ vision and showcase the excellence of these student-athletes to the world,” HNN general manager Katie Pickman said in the release from UH. “Our goal is to make UH sports easy to find and free to enjoy for every fan on every island, truly making them ‘Hawai’i’s Team’ across all platforms.”