Canberra Capitals coach Paul Goriss believes the WNBL's return to television will help basketball compete in a booming women's sport market.
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The WNBL has been left in the dark for the past two years with no broadcast deal, but the league has partnered with Fox Sports to feature at least one game per week for a shorter season.
The season is expected to run from late October to the start of January, paving the ways for some players to sign short-term contracts in Europe or Asia to supplement their earnings.
The emergence of women's AFL and increased exposure for netball and cricket saw basketball fall behind the standards for female athletes.
But Goriss said the new broadcast deal will put basketball back on the map and help the recruitment drive.
"This puts us up with the other women's sporting codes that are on TV and it's great to have Fox involved, that's exciting for us that we're on a par with other sports," Goriss said.
"The TV was a big deal for getting girls to reinvest in the WNBL and it gives us a kick for recruiting - either now or down the track.
"There is big money on offer in Europe as well so if this opens the door for players to be able to play both here and there, I'm all for that."
The Capitals hope the deal will still have enough flexibility for the club to stream its non-Fox Sports games on the internet in the hope of reaching a wider market.
The Capitals are pushing ahead with plans to shift home games from Tuggeranong to the National Convention Centre with ACT government officials doing the final costings of a drop-in court.
Goriss is building his roster and is set to announce new players as early as next week to join Keely Froling and Australian Opal Rachel Jarry.
The Capitals fell agonisingly short of a drought-breaking finals berth last season and Goriss has to rebuild his team after the departure of key players Carly Wilson and Marianna Tolo.
Goriss is locked in negotiations with several players to help fill the void after recruiting two-time Olympian Jarry last week.
The Capitals are also on track for a delayed moved to the National Convention Centre after playing at Tuggeranong last season.
Capitals boss Joe Roff said the club was working through the final stages of plans to host games in Civic as part of a deal with the government.
The only other venue in Canberra that would be suitable for broadcasting WNBL games would be the AIS Arena. But the Australian Sports Commission is still considering a proposal to turn the 4500-seat venue into a permanent volleyball arena.
"I think the Convention Centre can be great for coverage and it's got the infrastructure for broadcasting," Roff said.
"We're hoping to make an announcement on [whether the Capitals play in Civic] within the next month. There are budget considerations with installing a court, but we're extremely optimistic."
The Capitals also started to live stream games online last season in lieu of television coverage.
"We're hopeful Fox will be open to as exposure as possible outside the television games," Roff said.
"The exposure of the broadcast deal and the shorter season will heighten the appeal to fans and retain overseas players which will drive eyes on the screen."
