The UAAP and ABS-CBN are in the process of negotiating an extension of their broadcast partnership, after their previous deal expired on May 31 -- the scheduled end of UAAP Season 82.
"We're negotiating with ABS-CBN on moving forward. That's it," UAAP president Em Fernandez of Season 82 host Ateneo de Manila University said Tuesday during the Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum.
ABS-CBN has been the UAAP's broadcast partner since 2000. They extended their deal in 2014, with the Kapamilya Network promising increased coverage of other sports, not just basketball, volleyball, and cheerdance.
Since then, ABS-CBN has helped in steadily raising the profile of the UAAP, with athletes making appearances on the network's shows while championship games of several sports were aired on Sports+Action.
Dino Laurena, the head of ABS-CBN Integrated Sports, told ABS-CBN News that they will continue to bring the UAAP to its loyal fans through its platforms.
This, despite S+A being affected by the shutdown of the network's broadcasting operations. ABS-CBN went off air on May 5, upon the orders of the National Telecommunications Network. The network's application for a new franchise is currently being heard in Congress.
But Laurena assures that ABS-CBN can continue "delivering the UAAP to our audiences, whenever and wherever they are," thanks to its multi-platform strategy. The UAAP is aired not just through S+A, but also through the LIGA cable channel, and is live-streamed on iWant and the ABS-CBN Sports website.
UAAP executive director Atty. Rebo Saguisag, for his part, said there was no need to rush the negotiations.
"We actually have the luxury of time," he said. "We're negotiating the finer points of a possible partnership."
