Singapore, 16 November 2016 – In a landmark deal, the Singapore Slingers and StarHub have announced a partnership that will see the pay TV operator become the Official Broadcast Partner of the Singapore Slingers for three years starting with the upcoming ASEAN Basketball League (ABL) season.
All of the Slingers’ matches in the ABL will be shown ‘live’ on StarHub’s free sports channel, Hub Sports Arena (StarHub TV Channel 112/205). Non-StarHub TV customers can also watch the channel by connecting their TV sets to a cable point and turning to 76.25MHz. In addition, the games will be accessible on smart devices through StarHub’s online streaming service, StarHub Go.
“This broadcast agreement with StarHub is poised to give the team a massive boost as our games can now reach a wider audience. After coming so close to winning the league last season, we believe we are poised to go on another championship run, and our fans will be able to follow us more closely with this partnership. We would like to thank StarHub for their continued support of the Slingers and we believe that this partnership will be a fruitful one for all parties,” said Michael Johnson, General Manager of the Singapore Slingers.
“We have worked tirelessly with representatives of StarHub throughout the off season to get this deal done. StarHub has been supportive of the Slingers for the past few seasons and we believe this strengthened partnership we are announcing today will be a fruitful one for both StarHub and the Singapore Slingers,” said Mr Wee Siew Kim, owner of the Singapore Slingers.
“Being a homegrown brand, we are proud to back the Slingers. The team is fuelled by the support of the fans which is why we are making it as convenient as possible for them to follow the Slingers. With this partnership, Slingers fans can now catch the team’s ABL matches ‘live’ on multiple platforms across TV, tablets and smartphones, so they can cheer the team on wherever they are,” said Ms Lee Soo Hui, Head of Content & TV, StarHub. “We will also be looking to engage fans by running contests where viewers can stand to win premiums and tickets to Slingers matches.”
Now into its seventh season, the six-team ABL welcomes three new teams to the league – Alab Pilipinas (Philippines), Hong Kong Eastern Long Lions (Hong Kong) and Kaohsiung Truth (Taiwan). They will be joined by the defending champions Westports Malaysia Dragons (Malaysia), Singapore Slingers (Singapore) and Saigon Heat (Vietnam).
Each of the six teams will face each other four times during the three-month elimination round. The top four squads with the best record will then enter the playoffs.
The 2016-2017 season will tip off at 8pm on November 25 with the Slingers taking on the Dragons in the OCBC Arena in a rematch of last season’s Finals line-up, which promises to serve up an exciting start for the league.
