After the rebuffed franchise renewal application of ABS-CBN last September and closure of ABS-CBN Sports where NCAA was televised last July 16, NCAA, the oldest collegiate league, terminated its ten-year pact and announced an opening for its broadcasting rights.

According to sources, the Kapuso network is making a grandiose plan to air the NCAA events on GMA News TV that includes cross-promotion and display of live games in the central GMA channel as well.

GMA Network is persistent to secure the bid that even GMA chairman and CEO, Atty Felipe Gozon was the one to pitch during the presentation to the NCAA board and Management Committee, sources confirmed last October 28.

Gozon was accompanied by the President and COO Gilberto Duavit, Executive Vice President Felipe Yalong, and four other executives.

“We brought in all of our top brass to truly show our level of commitment (MAN-COM) to the NCAA,” said an anonymous person of GMA Official.

The deadline of bid in the race of who will win as the potential television partner of NCAA was set on November 11.

Among the considered tv networks to be in ramps in running NCAA basketball games and other sports action, GMA is going up against TV5 – who secured and acquired TV rights of UAAP together with other sports actions like PBA, NBA, Fiba, and PSL.

After the discussion and evaluation by the NCAA MAN-COM chairman Fr. Vic Calvo and the NCAA policy board led by Fr. Clarence Marquez, the declaration of the bid is scheduled to announce next week.

On the other hand, Smart President and CEO Al Panlilio, TV5 and Cignal president Robert Galang, Consumer Business for Home head Butch Jimenez and Head of Consumer Business Individual Jane Basas was the crowd who represent TV5 Network in the NCAA Board.

Sources said that GMA plans to take advantage of equipment used in News, Public Affairs, and entertainment for the sports coverage as well as bringing former ABS CBN employees to GMA.

“That’s how dedicated our coverage of NCAA is and hopefully this signals the start of a successful sporting sojourn for our network,” a GMA insider said.

The network is in talks to rebrand the NCAA telecast to something different from the way it was presented in ABS-CBN and TV5 for the past decades.