MANILA, Philippines – The NBA will officially return to Philippine television screens in time for the 2019-20 season restart.
Months since the league stopped airing its games on free TV, fans across the country will be able to catch the basketball action on TV5 and One Sports.
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Starting July 31, Games will be broadcasted every Monday and Friday on One Sports, while TV5 will show games on weekends.
TV5 and One Sports will air select "seeding games" and playoff games through the first and second rounds.
While the Conference Finals will be televised in its entirety between the two channels.
Then, the 2020 NBA Finals will be broadcast exclusively on TV5.
Apart from the games broadcasted on free tv, pay tv provider Cignal will also launch NBA TV Philippines – a localized version of NBA TV.
NBA TV Philippines will be a channel dedicated to the league 24/7.
Announced through a release sent to members of the media on Monday, Cignal TV, Inc. will be the league's newest broadcast partner after announcing a multiyear partnership deal with the top basketball league.
"The NBA restart is set against a uniquely challenging moment in time for our fans in the Philippines who are among the most passionate and dedicated NBA suppoerters in the world," NBA Asia Managing Director Scott Levy said.
"We are excited to partner with Cignal and Smart to bring NBA games to a nationwide audience, and we hope to play a role in lifting the spirits of Filipinos by bringing our fans together through their shared love of the game," he added.
"We at Cignal TV are extremely thrilled to bring the world's biggest basketball league back to every Filipino home," Cignal TV President and CEO Robert Galang said.
The league stopped broadcasting its games in the country shortly before the 2019-20 NBA season began after their nearly two decades long agreement with Solar Entertainment ended.
The deal comes in time for the July 30 (July 31, Manila time) tip-off of the season restart after months of hiatus due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Online content from the NBA website will also be made available locally through TV5's online assets.
Apart from the return to Philippine television, the NBA is also making its official merchandise available locally again with the anticipated launch of the NBAStore.com.ph.
Physical NBA stores in the Philippines closed shop back in 2018 after their merchandising deals expired.