Broadcaster to cut WNBL

THE ABC has announced it will cut live coverage of the Women’s National Basketball League from its Friday night broadcast for the coming season.
The Dandenong Rangers have added their collective voice to the call against the move, arguing that a proposed 90-minute highlights package on Saturday afternoon is inadequate and could even jeopardise the league’s existence.
Dandenong Basketball general manager Peter Roach said the decision to cut back the coverage would be a significant step backwards for women’s basketball.
“The growth of our sport is a major concern at the moment,” he said.
“A lot of our business is generated from the coverage we do get.”
Roach said he was hopeful the ABC would respond to the protest, but would not speculate as to what the result would be.
“Groundswell of opinion has swayed them (the ABC) before so we’re hopeful it will again,” he said.
“For us it seems to be a strange time to be doing it, with the Olympics coming up as well.
“If there is a team sport we’re likely to win, it’s women’s basketball.
“Women’s sport in general is something that is not given a lot of coverage on free-to-air TV, so it’s disappointing.”