Canberra Capitals start title defence with grand final rematch

The WNBL is on the cusp of securing a broadcast rights deal with free to air network SBS to complement an existing partnership with pay TV network Fox Sports.

Officials are nearing a new deal with SBS after the station simulcast 13 regular season matches and finals last season, as the league enters the third year of a partnership with Fox Sports.

WNBL chiefs are still working to finalise which games will be televised. The Capitals hope for more exposure to retain the support they welcomed en route to their eighth championship, which culminated in a crowd of 4817 for game three of the grand final series.

Canberra will open their 2019-20 season with a grand final rematch against the Adelaide Lightning at the AIS Arena on October 13 in a game Capitals general manager Lucille Bailie would be deserving of the exposure.

Bailie is desperate for the WNBL to mirror the deal struck by the NBL with ESPN and SBS which will see an 86 per cent increase in live free to air games for the men's competition.

"I put my hands in the air and say 'why isn't that happening for us? Why are we second fiddle?'," Bailie said.

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"This is a world class product and we know people love it. We know we get lots of eyeballs through traditional media, and we want to take it to a broader audience.

"We need the product to be on multiple platforms, free to air, every single game on every single weekend, much like the NBL deal which has just been announced.

"We're really happy with the overall experience. We've got a quality product here in Canberra and we want to see that on lots of Foxtel broadcasts.

"We've got to go bigger, we've got to consolidate and grow even further which is exciting."

The Capitals will bookend their bid for back-to-back WNBL titles when they renew hostilities with the Lightning in the first and last rounds of the regular season.

The grand final rivals will start the season with a rematch on October 13 before meeting again at the National Convention Centre in the final round on February 1.

The Capitals will host three matches at the AIS Arena with the remainder of their eight home games played in the heart of the city throughout a 21-game season.

The first will be against the Lightning, with the club hoping to attract another sell-out crowd in the rematch.

"We lobbied for that one, and it's obviously a biggie to start the season," Bailie said.

"We want Canberra to help us recreate game three of the championship match for that season opener. We want to start the season the way we finished last season.

"We've got to build. [Canberra coach Paul Goriss] and co well and truly delivered on the promise to 'go big' on court last season.

"We did the same, we more than doubled our average attendance and across the three finals matches we saw big amounts of people come through the gates again.

"We collectively delivered, we went big on court and off court, so as a business, our goal is to build on that, consolidate and grow. What we did well, we want to do better. We want to try some new things.

"The ultimate goal for us as a business is to continue to position this sport appropriately. It's a world class sport and a world class product that we have here in Canberra."

The WNBL season will be bisected by two FIBA international windows following a change in the qualification pathway for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The competition will go on hold for a week in mid-November, and again in February between the end of the regular season and the semi-finals.

WNBL 2019-20 FIXTURE

Round one - October 13: Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at AIS Arena, 5pm.

Round two - October 20: Canberra Capitals v Townsville Fire at Convention Centre, 2pm.

Round three - October 25: Melbourne Boomers v Canberra Capitals at Geelong Arena, 7.30pm.

Round three - October 27: Sydney Flames v Canberra Capitals at Sydney Uni Sports Centre, 2pm.

Round four - November 2: Canberra Capitals v Sydney Flames at AIS Arena, 5pm.

Round five - November 7: Southside Flyers v Canberra Capitals at Dandenong Basketball Stadium, 7.30pm.

Round five - November 9: Melbourne Boomers v Canberra Capitals at State Basketball Centre, 5pm.

Round six - November 24: Canberra Capitals v Perth Lynx at National Convention Centre, 5pm.

Round seven - November 30: Canberra Capitals v Townsville Fire at National Convention Centre, 5pm.

Round eight - December 6: Bendigo Spirit v Canberra Capitals at Bendigo Stadium, 7pm.

Round nine - December 15: Canberra Capitals v Southside Flyers at National Convention Centre, 5pm.

Round 10 - December 21: Canberra Capitals v Bendigo Spirit at National Convention Centre, 5pm.

Round 11 - December 27: Adelaide Lightning v Canberra Capitals at Adelaide Arena, 7.30pm.

Round 11 - December 29: Perth Lynx v Canberra Capitals at Bendat Basketball Centre, 4pm.

Round 12 - January 3: Bendigo Spirit v Canberra Capitals at Bendigo Stadium, 7pm.

Round 12 - January 5: Canberra Capitals v Perth Lynx at AIS Arena, 2pm.

Round 13 - January 10: Townsville Fire v Canberra Capitals at Townsville Stadium, 8pm.

Round 14 - January 17: Canberra Capitals v Melbourne Boomers at National Convention Centre, 7pm.

Round 14 - January 19: Southside Flyers v Canberra Capitals at Dandenong Basketball Stadium, 5pm.

Round 15 - January 26: Canberra Capitals v Sydney Flames at National Convention Centre, 5pm.

Round 16 - February 1: Canberra Capitals v Adelaide Lightning at National Convention Centre, 5pm.

Semi-finals: February 15-27

Grand final: March 1, 5 and 8