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| (Image Source: CNN Philippines) |
Many Filipino basketball fans were surprisingly treated to the return
of the National Basketball Association (NBA) games on Philippine television as
an early Christmas gift, but it is likely to be considered a remedy since its
return was just about a month after the start of the regular season while
looking for a permanent place for these games to be aired on television
locally.
Prior to the start of the regular season, NBA found itself without a
television partner in the Philippines following the expiration of its
long-standing partnership with Solar Entertainment Corporation last August 31,
2019 without being renewed which led to the unexpected permanent sign-off of the
ladder's flagship channels Basketball TV and NBA Premium TV after more than a
decade of being every Filipino basketball fan's go-to sources on television for
the comprehensive coverage of the league in the country. Cignal and SKY have
presented a joint bid to bring the games to a wider audience but negotiations
are reportedly on a stalemate at the moment. The league's games are solely being
aired on NBA Philippines' Facebook and Twitter platforms as well as the NBA
League Pass premium subscription service in place of television.
On November 13, 2019, NBA officially announced on its press release that
it has signed a deal with Nine Media Corporation where selected games are
slated to be aired on CNN Philippines every weekend. Aside from the airing of
select games, NBA and CNN Philippines will feature game highlights across the
ladder's various news programs including flagship daily newscasts News Night
and Sports Desk. In a statement shared to members of the media, NBA Philippines
managing director Carlo Singson said, "Weekends just got better with the
return of live NBA games on national television through CNN Philippines. Filipino
fans now have a choice of watching our games across a variety of platforms
including television, computers and mobile devices via social media and NBA League
Pass."
NBA's return to Philippine free TV kicked off last November 16th with a
game between the Boston Celtics and the Golden State Warriors which was followed
earlier this morning by the Milwaukee Bucks versus the Indiana Pacers. The
showdown between the Houston Rockets and the Los Angeles Clippers will go up
next on November 23 at 11:30 am followed by the New Orleans Pelicans taking on
the Utah Jazz on November 24, 10 am. Wrapping up the schedule of weekend NBA
action on CNN Philippines for the month of November is between the Dallas
Mavericks and the Phoenix Suns on November 30 at 10 am. Schedules for the month
of December will be announced in the coming weeks.
Though NBA games on CNN Philippines are on an interim basis which will take until the end of the year, Filipino
basketball fans will have to make do for these while a new national television
deal is hanging in the balance. Whether you like it or not, you're gonna have
to make the most of the exciting and hard-pumping basketball action that you can
indulge every Saturday and Sunday all throughout the holiday season. By the way, CNN Philippines is available on
free TV via Channel 9 in Mega Manila, Cebu and Davao, Channel 5 in Zamboanga,
Channel 8 in Bacolod and Channel 12 in Baguio; digital free TV channel 19; pay
TV via Skycable channel 14, SkyDirect channel 9 and Cignal channel 10; and live
online streaming via CNNPhilippines.com and @CNNPhilippines on Facebook.
