Latest news with #IgniteCup
News.com.au
2 days ago
- Business
- News.com.au
The NBL has secured its next broadcast rights deal that will stream the competition onto Disney+
Sundays will remain home to the NBL on free-to-air television, with all 166 games of season 2025-26 to remain live on Kayo Sports after the league locked in a new broadcast deal that will extend its partnership with ESPN 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.
Perth Now
17-06-2025
- Sport
- Perth Now
NBL ignites fixture with midweek, in-season tournament
Twenty-one games will be added to the NBL's schedule as part of a new in-season tournament spruiking historic prize money for players. The Ignite Cup will feature a game every Wednesday for 20 weeks from October 8 as the Australian league again follows in the NBA's footsteps. The innovation aims to spice up the regular season, just as the NBA Cup did when introduced in 2023. That same year the NBL introduced a finals play-in format that also mirrored the system brought in by the American league in 2020. A record $400,000 will be on the table and in an NBL-first, players in the winning team will split 60 per cent, or $180,000, of the $300,000 prize. The runners-up will receive $100,000. Games will count towards the regular-season table but a quarter-by-quarter scoring system for Ignite Cup points will ensure each game is played until the final buzzer. The NBL is spruiking an elevated game-day experience for fans and a "special location" for the February final. "The Ignite Cup is a huge new chapter for the NBL," NBL chief executive David Stevenson said. "We're building something that adds more competitive fire throughout the season, creates more blockbuster games, and brings fresh energy for our fans every single Wednesday night. "It's high-stakes hoops and we think fans are going to love it."
West Australian
17-06-2025
- Sport
- West Australian
NBL ignites fixture with midweek, in-season tournament
Twenty-one games will be added to the NBL's schedule as part of a new in-season tournament spruiking historic prize money for players. The Ignite Cup will feature a game every Wednesday for 20 weeks from October 8 as the Australian league again follows in the NBA's footsteps. The innovation aims to spice up the regular season, just as the NBA Cup did when introduced in 2023. That same year the NBL introduced a finals play-in format that also mirrored the system brought in by the American league in 2020. A record $400,000 will be on the table and in an NBL-first, players in the winning team will split 60 per cent, or $180,000, of the $300,000 prize. The runners-up will receive $100,000. Games will count towards the regular-season table but a quarter-by-quarter scoring system for Ignite Cup points will ensure each game is played until the final buzzer. The NBL is spruiking an elevated game-day experience for fans and a "special location" for the February final. "The Ignite Cup is a huge new chapter for the NBL," NBL chief executive David Stevenson said. "We're building something that adds more competitive fire throughout the season, creates more blockbuster games, and brings fresh energy for our fans every single Wednesday night. "It's high-stakes hoops and we think fans are going to love it."
News.com.au
17-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
NBL to reward players with biggest prize money in history as part new mid-season tournament
The NBL's players will receive the biggest prize money reward in league history as part of a new in-season tournament dubbed the Ignite Cup. In a bid to give the NBL regular season a boost, officials have created an exciting Wednesday night competition with big cash on the table for the winners. There is a massive total prize pool of $400,000, with $300,000 for the winning team and $100,000 for the runner-up. In a league-first, 60 per cent of the prize money will go directly to players, and the remaining 40 per cent to clubs. All Ignite Cup games will count towards the regular season standings, with the first games to start on October 8. Coming soonâš¡ï¸� — NBL (@NBL) June 17, 2025 The tournament – which will add an extra 21 games to the schedule - culminates in a standalone Ignite Cup Final to be played outside of the traditional NBL draw. The new tournament will also unveil an innovative scoring system to maintain interest throughout the entire game. The winning team will receive three points, while teams earn one point for winning each individual quarter. If both clubs score the same number of points in a quarter, they each receive 0.5 points. . This format ensures every quarter is a high-stakes 'mini-battle' for crucial ladder points. The Ignite Cup will aim to establish Wednesday nights as unmissable midweek blockbusters The fan-first approach promises new entertainment and energy. The quarter-by-quarter drama ensures constant intensity beyond just the final game score. There will be never-before-seen updates to the visual spectacle for broadcast and in-game experience.
