The NBL has secured its next broadcast rights deal that will stream the competition onto Disney+
But, after months of negotiations and a long back and forth, hopes the new Ignite Cup in-season tournament would take pride of place in prime time on the Seven Network on Wednesday nights have been dashed.
CODE Sports has been told the the two parties were unable to reach agreement on which medium the games would be broadcast on.
Network 10 will broadcast two games every Sunday — one on its main channel at 2.30pm AEDT, the other on the rebranded 10 Drama at 4.30pm AEDT.
With an estimated 3.7 million subscribers, ESPN's move to Disney+ has opened up a huge new audience for the NBL, which has built its monumental rise on a sporting and entertainment product that has become the most family-friendly in the country.
All games can be watched on ESPN through Kayo, Foxtel and Fetch TV in Australia, and Sky in New Zealand.
'We are thrilled to extend our distribution agreement with ESPN, and will continue to work closely together to ensure even more people can connect and access live NBL games,' NBL Group chief executive David Stevenson said.
'This new agreement reflects the NBL's remarkable evolution and increasing popularity, and marks another big step forward in the growth of our league.
'Our Broadcast audiences have grown by 106 per cent over the past three seasons and we are confident this new deal will ensure that trend continues as we continue to be the fastest growing professional sporting league in the country.'
Every game of the league's pre-season tournament, the NBL Blitz, which begins next Wednesday, will be shown live on ESPN from Canberra, while the Ignite Cup will be a Wednesday night ESPN special throughout the season.
Interest in the NBL has never been higher, with massive off-season moves, including five-time MVP Bryce Cotton's monumental move from Perth to Adelaide and Boomers great Matthew Dellavedova's shift from Melbourne to Sydney, along with the return of NBA firebrand Montrezl Harrell to Adelaide, Olympic hero Jack McVeigh's million-dollar Cairns coup and the arrival of two-time NBA champion Javale McGee at champion Illawarra.
'We have seen the biggest off-season shake-up in history, which has created a wave of anticipation unlike anything we've seen before,' Stevenson said.
'All 10 teams have a legitimate chance of winning the championship and I firmly believe the NBL26 season will be one of the best ever.'
The season tips off on September 18, with Melbourne United taking on bitter rival Tasmania.
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