Champions Illawarra Hawks, SEM Phoenix snubbed from FTA TV as NBL’s civil war turns ‘real ugly’

The NBL’s two teams at the centre of a legal battle with the competition’s owner Larry Kestelman have been dealt the harshest of hands following the league’s fixture release.

The NBL’s 2025-26 schedule launch comes without a new broadcast deal locked in but, with hope for two free-to-air games every Sunday, the league’s big four are primed to take centre stage while reigning champions Illawarra Hawks remain in no-pay purgatory.

While Sydney are set to be the FTA Kings with 13 Sunday slots, followed by Perth (11 games), Melbourne United and Adelaide (10 games each), the NBL’s biggest adversary in Illawarra is on the outer.

Hawks owner Jared Novelly is locked in bitter legal action against NBL owner Larry Kestelman and despite becoming the darlings of Australian basketball when they toppled Melbourne United in last season’s epic five-game grand final series, the Hawks haven’t been rewarded with a massive increase of free-to-air exposure.

The Hawks have just four prime time Sunday afternoon games – up one on last year – but still equal fewest with Brisbane and Tasmania.

Even the league’s smallest market in Cairns are set to appear on free TV screens six times this season.

Illawarra Hawks celebrate with the championship trophy – but they’ve been snubbed from FTA TV next season. Picture: Getty

The powerhouse in the west in Perth and the rabid Red Army might have lost their greatest player in Bryce Cotton but they are set to be beamed into homes across the country more often than last season with almost double the number of Sunday games — 11, up from six.

And infamous John Cain Arena combatants Melbourne United and Adelaide will each have 10 Sunday games — one more for each than last season — with United traditionally eye-catching and the box office Adelaide, with Cotton and Montrezl Harrell set to be must-watch TV.

The NBL is yet to secure a new broadcast deal for NBL26 but it’s created a fixture tailored to broadcast and it’s understood current holders ESPN and Network 10 are set to return, with Seven Network also involved in talks.

ESPN will be the exclusive rights holders, while Channel 10 is expected to continue its free-to-air Sunday coverage.

The NBL is in negotiations with Seven to broadcast the league’s new Ignite Cup mid-season tournament, to be played on Wednesday nights, in the hope of adding two extra free-to-air games for each club.

It’s a schedule that has had 91 different iterations to get to this point as the league worked feverishly to make the complex puzzle pieces fit, while working in conjunction with the WNBL to provide as much clear airtime for both leagues possible.

NBL executive Vince Crivelli said the fixture was “stacked with intensity, storylines, and some of the best rivalries in Australian sport.”

NBL Owner and Executive Chairman Larry Kestelman. Picture: Getty

“What makes this season so compelling is how personal so many of these match-ups are,” Crivelli added.

“Fans are going to feel the tension and the emotion every single round.

“Whether it’s Bryce Cotton going head-to-head with the Wildcats and the Red Army, Matthew

Dellavedova returning to Melbourne, or Kendric Davis lining up against the 36ers, these

games aren’t just about competition, they’re about legacy, pride and proving a point.

“Rivalries like these are what elevate the league and fuel the passion in every corner of

the country.

“It’s wall-to-wall action, a deeper integration with the WNBL and fan-first experiences across the calendar.

“It’s shaping up to be one of the most exciting and competitive seasons we’ve ever had.”

SEM Phoenix head coach Josh King and his team face a horror road schedule this season. Picture: Getty

South East Melbourne — the other club which has made waves in joining the Hawks in a legal battle with the league over alleged lack of transparency — has copped one of the toughest, compacted stretches of basketball in recent years which could make or break their season.

Last year, the Phoenix were aggrieved they drew the short straw and had to travel to Perth to face Bryce Cotton and the Wildcats on their home deck during Hoops Fest.

That was one of three times they made the tough trip across time zones in the regular season.

This season, it might be worse, one club source telling CODE Sports the “ugly is real ugly” in the fixture.

Beginning at Hoops Fest in January, the Phoenix are set to catch seven flights and travel 16,000kms in 18 days to play six games, five of those in the first 13.

If that wasn’t enough, any hope of relief after jumping on the Perth-Cotton grenade at Hoops Fest last season has evaporated.

They’re locked into a date against the NBL’s best player in his new Adelaide 36ers digs — on the RAC Arena floor he called home for nine seasons.

While Cotton won’t be wearing a Perth jersey, it’s safe to assume the Phoenix can expect a Wildcats welcome from a crowd that still adores their three-time championship legend.

Originally published as Champions Illawarra Hawks, SEM Phoenix snubbed from FTA TV as NBL’s civil war turns ‘real ugly’