Nine and Stan set for NBL broadcast bid to expand Stan Sport offering

Larry Kestelman’s National Basketball League is in Nine Entertainment and Stan’s sights.

Larry Kestelman says ‘there’s been good interest shown’ in the NBL rights and ‘it’s nice there’s new platforms out there.’ Picture: Richard Jupe

Basketball could emerge with a broadcast deal worth $20m annually with Larry Kestelman’s ­National Basketball League targeted by Nine Entertainment and its streaming service Stan to add to its collection of sports rights.

Having already won rugby union rights in a $100m deal late last year, Nine and Stan would also add the NBL to tennis as it seeks to build out its fledgling Stan Sports service.

The NBL, which begins its delayed 2021 season on Friday night, is set to benefit from Stan’s entry to the sports market and jump from its current deal with SBS and ESPN, an advertising revenue sharing contract only, to potentially the most lucrative contract in the league’s 42-year history.

SBS and ESPN’s contract expires after the upcoming season, which is planned to finish by the end of June, and NBL management is in talks for the 2021-22 season slated for October and ­onwards.

Foxtel, which carries the ESPN telecast, and its Kayo streaming service could also bid for the rights and give the NBL, whose nine club owners lose $15m-$20m annually, much-needed competition for its broadcast product — though Nine appears to be in the box seat, and would put most matches on Stan and some on one of its free-to-air channels.

Nine and Stan could also bid for A-League rights later this year.

Mr Kestelman would not comment on negotiations, but told The Australian he welcomed competition for the NBL rights.

“Yes there’s been good interest shown and it’s nice there’s new platforms out there that could be showing interest in us,” he said.

“We need media partners that work with us. ESPN and SBS are great and they have done a good job, so we will see what happens.”

A valuable deal would come at a crucial time for the league’s business model. Mr Kestelman owns the NBL itself and a new team entering the competition next season in the Tasmanian JackJumpers.

The other clubs are owned by a collection of owners, ranging from entrepreneur Paul Smith at the Sydney Kings and Vicinity Centres chief executive Grant Kelley at Adelaide 36ers, to a collection of cashed-up current and former National Basketball Association players who have bought stakes in various franchises in recent years.

Mr Kestelman, who bought the league in a $7m deal in 2015, says those transactions have boosted the value of most franchises. “When I first got involved there was not a lot of money being paid at all,” he said.

“Then it was a couple of million for a licence. It is not less than $10m now and I would guess licences like Melbourne and Sydney could be double that — and probably Perth as well.”

But with COVID-19 affecting attendances and state border closures potentially playing havoc with the NBL’s schedule, owners face a tough task financially operating this season given almost all their revenue comes from hosting games at venues that last season were close to full most nights.

Mr Kestelman said he was aware of the clubs’ financial issues and said he would be paying for having several teams move interstate during the pre-season to stay clear of COVID lockdowns.

He also said clubs should benefit from the NBL establishing a hub in Melbourne to host all teams over 36 games from February 20, with some funding from the Victorian government.

“The main reason for the hub is two-fold. One is a revenue generator and the net revenue is going to go to the clubs to help them and make sure we come out of this strong and healthy, and the other one is to prolong the season to achieve as big crowds as we can,” he said.

The hub will host what is being called the NBL Cup, a new mid-season tournament that will count towards the overall standings.

A new Tasmanian club is also a groundbreaking deal in many ways. It puts a new professional sports team in the state but also involves Mr Kestelman, an entrepreneur who has property development interests, controlling the Derwent Entertainment Centre and undertaking a $200m commercial precinct around the ­stadium.

Mr Kestelman said the stadium, which the state government is paying $60m to refurbish, will be ready for the 2021-22 season and that he wanted to start building an adjacent hotel, shops and food outlets soon after.

Otherwise Mr Kestelman, who has poured an estimated $30m of his own funds into the league, says he has had interest from international investors but wants to maintain control for at least the time being: “I’m very proud of where we are, I’m excited about where we are going and not about to lose interest in it.”