FILE – NCAA Season 95 opening. INQUIRER PHOTO/TRISTAN TAMAYO
MANILA, Philippines—The NCAA expressed its dismay after the House of Representatives denied ABS-CBN’s bid for franchise renewal, putting in jeopardy the sporting association’s live broadcast of its games in the near future.
Peter Cayco, the NCAA management committee chairman, said in a text message to Inquirer that it was also a sad day for the league but it would not be the end of the road for their partnership with the TV network.
“We were saddened by the recent denial of the application for a new franchise by ABS-CBN,” said Cayco Saturday. “But we are sure the NCAA can work it out with them.”
“We need to sit down and discuss with ABS-CBN management what the options are. There are still other platforms available.”
ABS-CBN had been a long time broadcast partner of the NCAA before the country’s old collegiate league linked up with TV5 in the early 2010s on a three-year deal.
The NCAA returned to ABS-CBN in 2015 and inked a 10-year contract with its games getting shown on the Sports and Action channel of the network.