Basketball Australia has agreed a new rights deal with public-service broadcaster the ABC encompassing the Women’s National Basketball League and the women’s and men’s national teams.
Terms and duration of the new deal were not disclosed, but the ABC will expand its Saturday afternoon coverage of the WNBL to a two-hour timeslot, starting from the forthcoming 2013-14 season.
All women’s national team games played in Australia will continue to be broadcast on free-to-air television, while the ABC will also expand its coverage to include all men’s games on home soil.
Basketball Australia chief executive officer Kristina Keneally said: “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.”
In addition, the ABC said it will “endeavour” to provide additional coverage of Australia’s games played overseas in the lead-up to the 2014 Fiba World Championship for Women and 2014 Fiba World Cup.