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You can now watch NBA and WNBA games free thanks to a new multi-year deal between SBS and the blockbuster US basketball leagues

Sharon Masige

  • SBS has signed a multiyear deal with the NBA and the WNBA to broadcast live games free to air.

  • The broadcaster will showcase two live, regular season NBA games per week on SBS Viceland and via streaming on SBS On Demand. It will also broadcast one WNBA game per week.

  • The new deal comes after SBS announced it would broadcast the entire 2019-2020 Australian National Basketball League season for free.

In good news for basketball fans, SBS has signed a multiyear deal with the US National Basketball Association (NBA) and the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA) to bring live games back to free to air viewing.

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The broadcaster will showcase two live, regular season NBA games per week on SBS Viceland and streaming on SBS On Demand, SBS reported, beginning with the 2019-2020 NBA season.

Under the deal, the SBS will also broadcast one live WNBA game per week as well as some games from the first three rounds of the WNBA playoffs.

SBS Managing Director James Taylor said premium international sports continue to be a focus of the company's offering.

"We are thrilled to partner with the NBA and the WNBA to bring live coverage back to Australians for free,” he said in an SBS report.

“The NBA and the WNBA are among the world’s most diverse leagues and basketball is an increasingly popular sport."

The new deal comes after SBS announced it would broadcast the entire 2019-2020 National Basketball League season for free.

“Building on our recently announced deal with the NBL, these partnerships with the NBA and the WNBA make SBS the exclusive free-to-air home of basketball in Australia and are a great opportunity to bring new audiences, particularly younger viewers, to SBS Viceland and SBS On Demand,” Taylor added.

Live NBA games stopped being free to air after One HD changed its format from a 24-hour sports channel in 2011 and got rid of its NBA rights shortly after, The Sydney Morning Herald reported.

Now with SBS, the games will be available for free once again.

NBA Asia Head of Global Content and Media Distribution Ramez Sheikh said the organisation was excited to partner with SBS to bring the basketball games to a nationwide audience on free to air television.

“These partnerships show that fans in Australia have a growing demand for basketball content and beginning next season, they will enjoy outstanding NBA and WNBA coverage on SBS across broadcast and digital,” he said.

Several Australian basketball players have been included in recent NBA and WNBA rosters. 14 Aussies were on the NBA rosters during the 2018-19 season including Deng Adel, Andrew Bogut and Ben Simmons. On the WNBA side, eight Aussie players were included in the 2019 season including Rebecca Allen, Liz Cambage and Kelsey Griffin.

So which basketball team will you be supporting?