The Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) has announced a broadcast deal with Nine Network and ESPN, where fans will have access to more league coverage.
The deal will see the 84-game regular season and finals land on both networks, with 68 games being on Nine’s free streaming service 9Now.
The WNBL joins several other basketball leagues on ESPN’s Home of Hoops, including the NBL and the NBA.
For each of the 16 rounds, ESPN will broad one game exclusively, which will be named ‘Game of the Week’ and will also host every game of the WNBL finals.
In addition to broadcasting the games, both ESPN and Nine have agreed to feature the WNBL on other programs and digital platforms, with the aim of providing more visibility for the league.
Commenting on the new deal, head of the WNBL, Christy Collier-Hill, said: “This deal gives us a home for the next two years, which provides us with an enormous opportunity to really lift the profile of the league, the clubs, and the incredible athletes that are part of it.
“The WNBL highlights some of the best basketball players in the world – Australian Opals, WNBA and international superstars. We want as many people as possible to be able to see these amazing athletes in action on and off the court, and this new broadcast deal provides us with that opportunity,” she said.
ESPN local head, and The Walt Disney company senior vice president and managing director in Australia and New Zealand, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, added: “We’re excited to partner with the WNBL to bring even more basketball action to ESPN as Australia’s ‘Home of Hoops’.
“With the addition of the WNBL, ESPN will now broadcast all the major female basketball competitions worldwide, including the WNBA, NCAA and FIBA International Basketball.
“It’s an incredible time for women’s basketball with the FIBA Women’s World Cup set to be played in Sydney this coming September.
“The WNBL is getting better and better and quickly growing its passionate base of supporters and we’re thrilled for fans to see it on ESPN,” she said.
On their side of the deal, Nine Director of Sport, Brent Williams, said: “Nine and Wide World of Sports are thrilled to be partnering with one of the strongest, elite female basketball competitions in the world.”
“9Now will provide the perfect destination for new and emerging fans of the WNBL to engage with the sport they love, at any time and on any device they choose” he said.
The 2022/23 season kicks-off on 2 November, with eight Australian Opals returning from the FIBA Women’s World Cup in September.
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