David Stevenson Outlines Path to Tier-1 Status as NBL Secures Nine Network Broadcast Deal

The National Basketball League (NBL) has taken a stride in its commercial evolution, securing a two-year free-to-air broadcast deal with the Nine Network starting in the NBL27 season.

The agreement places the league on Nine’s primary platforms—including two live marquee games on Saturday nights across Nine and 9Now—alongside established subscription rights holders ESPN, Kayo, and Disney+.

Speaking on the rationale behind the deal, NBL Group CEO, David Stevenson, outlined how the broader Nine ecosystem serves as a fundamental growth engine to transition the league from a high-tier sport into Australia’s tier-one commercial landscape.

“Yeah, w we probably see them as, you know, in my terms a as our growth partner.”

“Because they’re helping us grow into new audiences on broadcast, newspapers, outdoors and and beyond…

“I think they’re going to help us take that next step from really, you know, we we’ve been a tier two sport.

“Hopefully at the high end of Tier 2 and we really want to grow to be that Tier 1 sport alongside AFL, NRL, cricket, tennis,” Stevenson said.

Commercial Record and On-Court Calibre Drive Value

The multi-platform partnership follows unprecedented commercial growth for the league, which enters the upcoming campaign with a record 14 new commercial partners alongside retained sponsors.

The league’s talent profile continues to expand globally, boasting 24 players with prior NBA experience.

Furthermore, the NBL has solidified its status as an elite pipeline to North America, with 36 players transitioning directly to the NBA.

“We love it because what it what it does is just help share the benefits of what we’re doing on a global stage.

“So we all know the good story of of the Australians…

“but it’s also the international players…

“who then see the NBL as the biggest pathway through to the NBA or the WNBL is the biggest pathway through to the WNBA, that’s a pretty remarkable position that we’ve got that frankly doesn’t exist in in lots of other sports,” Stevenson noted.

Innovating Fan Engagement and Digital Ecosystems

Beyond linear television, the NBL is diversifying its digital reach through a $100,000 Most Valuable Creator (MVC) initiative, designed to reward content creators for driving fan engagement across digital platforms.

“This idea of $100,000 of prize money is to say there’s some incentive for those creators to start creating content for for the NBL but also for them to be able to get a benefit out of it beyond the growth of their followers and and their engagement,” Stevenson explained.

Balancing digital innovation with game management remains central to the league’s strategy as it balances long-term fan acquisition with core basketball traditions.

“What we know is that there’s no sport that stands still that will grow.

“So we do need to keep moving, keep adjusting,” Stevenson concluded.

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