THE National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) picked GMA Network as its official broadcast partner for its postponed 96th season.
The NCAA announced on Friday that the contract covers five-and-a-half years expiring in 2026.
“The first athletic league in the country deserves to be in the No. 1 network,” NCAA Management Committee Chairman Fr. Victor Calvo Jr. of Letran said.
Calvo said the deal will be highlighted by the NCAA’s centennial celebration in 2024.
The games will be aired on GMA News TV and via online streaming on GMANetwork.com. The men’s basketball Finals will be aired on the Kapuso Network’s main channel, GMA-7, while viewers abroad can catch the action via GMA Pinoy TV.
“We are excited that GMA Network is the new home of the NCAA. At the same time, we are grateful to the NCAA board for putting their trust in GMA to serve as a platform in showcasing the talented Filipino student-athletes,” GMA Network Chairman and CEO Felipe Gozon said.
“The NCAA, the Philippines’s first and longest-running collegiate athletic league, is most happy and honored to enter into partnership with GMA Network Inc., the Philippines’s No. 1 TV network,” said Fr. Rector Clarence Victor Marquez, OP, Policy Board president of NCAA Season 96 and president of Letran.
“We look forward with hope and excitement as we work together to form our young student-athletes to become the next champions and national athletes who will bring honor and glory to our beloved country, moving towards the league’s centennial year,” Marquez added.
The network will also air action in volleyball, swimming and athletics.