Boomers exhibition games will be on free to air, thanks to NBL's new SBS deal
Australian basketball fans will be able to watch our Boomers compete in the coming exhibition games at home on free to air (FTA) television, courtesy of the NBL and SBS.
News broke last night on ESPN's new broadcast deal with the NBL, and earlier this morning, a new announcement was made with regards to the FTA component. Fans will get complimentary access to the entire 2019/20 NBL season, with 67 games to be shown on SBS VICELAND, and all games will be streamed live and free on SBS On Demand.
https://twitter.com/OlgunUluc/status/1156311997694148608
Update: According to TV Blackbox, NBL is absorbing production costs, and will not receive a rights fee. It will instead get a cut of advertising from both SBS and ESPN.
Also included in the announcement, was the news that the International Basketball Series will also be available for free within Australia - exclusively on SBS VICELAND and streamed live via SBS On Demand.
Update: SBS has confirmed that the games will be on SBS On Demand for 7-14 days after actual broadcast. (h/t Luc Knight for the share.)
These seven exhibition games will be played in the lead up to the FIBA 2019 World Cup tournament in China, and comprises of games involving the Australian Boomers, Canada Basketball, the New Zealand Tall Blacks and Team USA.
It also features two marquee games between the Australian Boomers and Team USA, to be played at Melbourne's Marvel Stadium.
https://pickandroll.com.au/ticket-refunds-look-unlikely-for-boomers-usa-games/
Much has been made in recent news on the spate of withdrawals from elite US NBA players from USA Basketball's World Cup squad, as well as Ben Simmons' subsequent exit from the exhibition games, who was replaced by Jason Cadee.
Numerous questions and debates were raised around ticket refunds, as well as inaccurate expectations set with outdated advertising campaigns.
NBL's ESPN-SBS broadcast deal summary
SBS VICELAND will broadcast 67 games live, free and in HD. Games will be broadcast at various times with most airing at 5.30pm on Saturday and at 3pm and 5pm on Sunday
ESPN will broadcast 59 games including all games after 7.30pm
All 126 games will be live and free to stream via SBS on Demand
All SBS VICELAND and ESPN games will be broadcast in HD
All finals will be simulcast on SBS VICELAND and ESPN
All seven international games featuring Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada next month will be available free on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand
International Basketball Series game schedule
Australian Boomers vs Canada Basketball, Friday 16 August 2019 , 7:30pm
Australian Boomers vs Canada Basketball, Saturday 17 August 2019 , 7:30pm
Canada Basketball vs New Zealand, Tuesday 20 August 2019 , 7:30pm
Canada Basketball vs New Zealand, Wednesday 21 August 2019 , 7:30pm
Australian Boomers vs USA Basketball, Thursday 22 August 2019 , 7:30pm
Australian Boomers vs USA Basketball, Saturday 24 August 2019, 2:00pm
USA Basketball vs Canada Basketball, Monday 26 August 2019, 7:30pm
Updated: All games live on SBS VICELAND and SBS On Demand, except Canada vs New Zealand (20, 21 Aug). These games will be live on SBS On Demand, but delayed broadcast on SBS VICELAND the next day (information via Basketball Australia).