ESPN has secured its longstanding position as the primary NBA rights holder in the region and ‘Home For Hoops’ following the landmark 11-year extension with the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association.
Beginning from the 2025-26 season through the 2035-36 season, the long-term deal sees the NBA and WNBA continue as mainstay programming on ESPN in Australia and New Zealand.
“ESPN remains the Home for Hoops in Australia and New Zealand and our continued strength in basketball is a big win for fans,” said Kylie Watson-Wheeler, senior vice president and managing director, The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand and head of ESPN, APAC.
ESPN is the exclusive broadcast partner for 240 regular season NBA games, an enhanced game package for the First and Second Rounds of the NBA Playoffs, all NBA Conference Finals and NBA Finals games.
The WNBA coverage will extend across the WNBA regular season and WNBA Playoffs, including WNBA Semi Final and WNBA Finals series.
ESPN continues to provide full coverage of the NBA and WNBA All-Star Weekends as well as the NBA Draft and WNBA Draft.
ESPN has strengthened rights to expand its NBA studio coverage via new whip-around programming on nights that ESPN is televising games, including the ability to establish enhanced game access, player arrivals, and interviews.
Additionally, rights include highlighting live action from around the league with real-time highlights, live cut-ins, produced features, and breakdowns from leading ESPN analysts.
“ESPN is committed to bringing all the NBA and WNBA action to our highly engaged audiences through our new rights agreement over the long term, coupled with even more hoops programing including NBL, WNBL, NCAA, and Australian Boomers and Opals,” added Watson-Wheeler.
“ESPN has been part and parcel of the growth and coverage of the NBA over the past 22 years. And we are eager to build on this terrific partnership, which is one of the league’s most extensive and longest-standing relationships,” said Adam Silver, NBA commissioner.
The WNBA has seen unprecedented recent growth with the emergence of Indiana Fever superstar Caitlin Clark, along with local heroes Ezi Magbegor, Bec Allen, Nyadiew Puoch, Isobel Borlase, and Jaz Shelley.
NBA superstars LeBron James, Steph Curry, Jayson Tatum, Luka Doncic, Victor Wembanyama, and Nikola Jokic join Australia’s Josh Giddey, Dante Exum, Josh Green, Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, and Ben Simmons as part of the world’s number one basketball league.
