Basketball secures landmark TV deal with ABC

Basketball Australia has announced a new agreement with the ABC that will see expanded coverage of the 2013/14 Women's National Basketball League season, as well as the Jayco Australian Opals and Australian Boomers road to the 2014 World Championships.

Under the terms of the new agreement, the WNBL will expand its Saturday afternoon coverage to a two-hour timeslot, with action tipping off at 3pm nationally.

The ABC and Jayco Australian Opals continue their long-standing relationship under the new agreement, with all Opals games played in Australia to be broadcast on free-to-air television.

In a coup for Australian basketball fans following on from the success of the FIBA Oceania Championships, the ABC will also expand their coverage to include all Australian Boomers games on home soil.

Basketball Australia Chief Executive Kristina Keneally said the landmark agreement would provide fans with a new level of coverage of the game, stating "for the ABC to show this level of commitment to basketball at the WNBL and national team level is a ringing endorsement of the direction in which the game is headed.

"The ABC's commitment to women's basketball has long been the envy of other sports, with the unrivalled coverage of the WNBL and Jayco Australian Opals to continue under the new and improved agreement.

"For 34 years the ABC has been the home of the WNBL and this fruitful partnership will continue, with expanded coverage and an improved two-hour timeslot that will beam games live across a large segment of the country.

"As the 2014 FIBA Women's World Championship and 2014 FIBA Men's World Cup draw near, Opals and Boomers fans will be able to cheer on their national team heroes, with all games played in Australia to broadcast on ABC."

ABC TV Head of Sport and Events Justin Holdforth added "with the WNBL, the Opals and now the Boomers on board ABC TV is truly the home of Australian basketball.

"It is important that basketball fans can follow the progress of the Boomers and Opals on free to air national television as they prepare for the World Championships next year.

"We hope audiences will enjoy and share in their journey, uninterrupted on ABC 1 and ABC iView."

In a further boost for national team fans, the ABC will endeavour to provide additional coverage of Opals and Boomers games played overseas in the lead-up to the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women and 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

The 2013/14 WNBL season will see a host of Opals stars and WNBA imports headline what promises to be an action-packed campaign.

Under the new agreement WNBL fans will see:

One game a week shown in full at 3pm nationally on ABC's free-to-air TV channel, ABC1, with the a number of games going LIVE into Victoria, New South Wales, Tasmania and ACT;

The expanded two-hour time slot will feature increased analysis and coverage of the competition;

All WNBL finals will be broadcast in full also on ABC 1, and

Games on-demand through ABC's popular catch up channel iView for up to 14 days after broadcast.

The WNBL Spring Shield pre-season tournament tips-off another exciting summer of basketball, with all nine teams in action in 15 games over three days at Melbourne's Dandenong Stadium from 20th to 22nd September.

The 2013/14 WNBL season begins on Friday 4th October, with reigning champion Bendigo Spirit travelling to North Queensland for a Grand Final rematch with the Townsville Fire.

http://www.wnbl.com.au