Basketball talks up booming popularity, ratings
NBL owner Larry Kestelman says the “sleeping giant’’ of basketball in Australia is “awake’’ and set to boom.
A bullish Kestelman said yesterday at the NBL season launch on the Crown Casino rooftop in Melbourne that the rejuvenated competition was set to build on the bumper crowds and TV ratings from last year as well as three his- toric exhibition games against NBA teams next month.
“The sleeping giant of Australian sport is awake and we are coming,” he said. “People have forgotten the popularity and how good we are at this sport. We are bloody amazing.
“We are the sport every other sport wants to be. We want to be Australia’s No. 1 summer sport and one of the biggest sports in the country.”
Meanwhile, a consortium has lodged an expression of interest with the WNBL about establishing a team in Brisbane.
The WNBL, which is about to start its 37th consecutive season and is the longest- running women’s sporting competition in Australia, is keen to have a team in the Queensland capital again but said the process was in its infancy.
Fox Sports will remain the home of the NBL this season with every game shown live.
For the first time since 2015, the WNBL will be shown on national TV following a partnership with Fox Sports, which will show a weekly Saturday 3pm game, a Round 8 doubleheader and all finals live.
“The NBL and WNBL are two of the toughest competitions in the world, featuring some of the most talented athletes in the world,’’ Fox Sports CEO Patrick Delany said.
“The NBL has done a great job at innovating and promoting their competition which is helping basketball reach new heights in Australia.’’