By Ivan Saldajeno

MANILA—Bilyonaryo News Channel is apparently going all-in for its shot at taking over the NCAA broadcasting rights.

Jacque Ruby, BNC's first vice president, said that the young news-oriented broadcast network intends to dedicate all its sports broadcasting efforts to the NCAA, possibly being its first foray into delivering live sporting events.

"The NCAA will be our sole sports property. That means our production resources, promotional efforts, programming support, and digital initiatives will be fully dedicated to growing the NCAA brand, its member schools, and its student-athletes," he said in a statement on Friday night.

Ruby added that BNC is now investing in high-quality equipment needed to deliver live NCAA broadcasting like no other.

"We are prepared to make significant investments in production from day one by bringing together the best people in the industry while developing young talents who can help elevate NCAA coverage for years to come," said Ruby, who is also the local team representative of the guest team Macau Giant Pandas in the PBA.

For now, Ruby said that BNC will rent some sports broadcasting equipment if the channel wins the NCAA broadcasting rights with Season 102 starting on Sept. 12.

"Given the proximity of the season opening, it is imperative that we initially lease high-quality equipment to ensure we can deliver a first-class broadcast from Day One," Ruby said.

"Our long-term vision is to build a dedicated NCAA production infrastructure equipped with state-of-the-art technology that will be used exclusively for NCAA coverage."

Abante-Bilyonaryo Group, BNC's mother company, is also developing an international distribution strategy for NCAA games and special programming through its international distribution partners, with a particular focus on reaching Filipino communities, NCAA alumni, and longtime collegiate sports fans across the globe.

BNC is vying with Cignal for the NCAA broadcasting rights following GMA's decision to end its five-year partnership with the league.

The new NCAA broadcast partner is expected to be revealed later this month.