FILE – San Miguel Beermen’s June Mar Fajardo. –PBA IMAGES
MANILA, Philippines–The Philippine Basketball Association (PBA) will have its games shown on free television channel A2Z beginning with the start of the season-opening Commissioner’s Cup next month, TV5 announced Tuesday.
TV5 president Guido Zaballero said the move came after an agreement was reached with Zoe Broadcasting Network and ABS-CBN that also paved the way for PBA games to revert back to their primetime schedule.
“We believe the PBA needs a dedicated home,” Zaballero said during the league’s press conference held at Diamond Hotel.
Zoe owns the legislative franchise to channel 11 and has a block time deal with ABS-CBN since 2020.
PBA games will be aired at 4 p.m. and 8 p.m. every Wednesday and Friday and 3 p.m. and 6:15 p.m. on weekends, with TV5 still in charge of production.
Zaballero added the transfer to A2Z coincides with TV5 putting more focus on other programming, particularly its growing entertainment lineup.
FILE–Magnolia guard Jio Jalalon goes for a layup against Phoenix in the PBA On Tour. PBA IMAGES
Its partnership with ABS-CBN has allowed TV5 to air some of the highly-rated primetime shows, namely the popular Batang Quiapo starred by Coco Martin.
TV5’s UHF channel, One Sports, is also showing a number of sports programs such as the UAAP and the Premier Volleyball League which are sometimes held at the same time as the PBA.
“We saw the possibly with [A2Z] and to continue building the PBA, we need to have a dedicated home for the league,” Zaballero said with a mixture of Filipino words.
“At the same time, I have to acknowledge that the focus of TV5 is on entertainment and news. So we already have a solid entertainment and news channel, as well as a sports channel. So it’s a good balance for both,” he added.
The previous two seasons have seen the league being aired at 3 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. on weekdays and 4:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. on TV5 and One Sports.
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PBA games will still be shown on One Sports, albeit on a delayed basis.