NBC delivers weekend of live international sports
The National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) has delivered one of the biggest weekends of live international sport in its history, bringing three marquee events across three time zones directly into the homes of Papua New Guineans.
Over a single weekend, NBC broadcasted the Betfred Super League Grand Final from England, John Ume's bout in Auckland, New Zealand, and the London Broncos — all LIVE.
Managing Director of NBC, Kora Nou, said, for a nation that lives and breathes sport, it meant no waiting for highlights, no relying on secondhand updates, and no missing the moment.
“Last weekend was about one simple promise: if it matters to Papua New Guineans, NBC will bring it to them live.
“Our people watched our athletes and the world's best compete in real time, and they did it on their national broadcaster, for free.” He said.
Super League Grand Final: Old Trafford, live to PNG Rugby league is PNG's national game, and the Super League Grand Final is the pinnacle of the northern-hemisphere season.
NBC carried the decider between Wakefield Trinity and the Warrington Wolves on Saturday 3rd October live from Old Trafford, Manchester, with kick-off landing in the early hours of Sunday morning PNG time.
Thousands of fans stayed up across the country to watch Wakefield Trinity claim the 2026 title with a 23-10 victory.
The broadcast also gave Papua New Guineans the chance to follow our PNG heritage players, on the sport's biggest club stage in Europe. Delivering the Grand Final required NBC to receive and turn around a LIVE feed from the UK, a 10-hour time difference, and keep the signal stable through the night for viewers in every province.
John Ume in Auckland: a nation in his corner When John Ume stepped into the ring at Eventfinda Stadium in Auckland on Saturday 3rd October to face Hamza Perwaisy for the BX-9 Interim Welterweight Championship, the whole country was able to stand in his corner.
NBC broadcasted the fight live, so families, villages and workplaces could watch one of our own compete on an international card as it happened.
Ume delivered, stopping Perwaisy by technical knockout in the seventh round to claim the belt. It capped a strong run for Ume in the BX-9 series, where he has now won multiple bouts in Auckland.
The broadcast showed young Papua New Guineans what is possible when talent meets opportunity, and it put a PNG fighter in front of a home audience at the moment it counted.
For NBC, Auckland meant working with a separate rights holder and production team, a different feed path from the UK events, and a live window that had to be locked in alongside the rest of the weekend's schedule.
London Broncos: a Championship Grand Final rout, live Rounding out the weekend, NBC brought viewers the Betfred Championship Grand Final live, as the London Broncos crushed Doncaster RLFC 78-6.
The emphatic win gave PNG fans another window into English rugby league and a club with a growing following in the Pacific.
Carrying two UK grand finals in the same weekend proved NBC can run multiple international feeds back-to-back without dropping a beat.
Behind the screen: NBC's technical team Three live international events in one weekend was a genuine stress test, and NBC's engineers, technicians and production crew passed it.
The team managed incoming feeds from two countries, coordinated with multiple rights holders, and kept transmission running across overnight and daytime windows.
The weekend demonstrated capabilities that NBC has been building steadily:
- Multi-feed operations: receiving, switching and scheduling several international feeds within 48 hours.
- Round-the-clock transmission: crews rostered through the night to protect signal quality for UK kick-offs.
- Rights and partner coordination: working with international broadcasters and promoters to clear and deliver live content.
- National reach: getting live pictures to viewers in all provinces.
“Our technical staff are the unsung heroes of last weekend,” said Mr Nou, “every live minute on screen was the result of hours of planning, testing and teamwork.
This is proof that NBC can deliver world-class live broadcasting.” Ready for a massive 2027 and beyond “Last weekend was more than a sports schedule.
It was a dress rehearsal for what lies ahead. “2027 will be one of the busiest years in NBC's history, with the 2027 National General Election, the Pacific Games, PNG's road to the NRL, and other regional and international events, including another two years of UK Super League (which NBC had already secured the broadcast rights for).
MD Nou said the experience gained last weekend will feed directly into NBC's planning for those events, including staff training, equipment investment and partnerships with international broadcasters.
NBC's goal is clear: to be the first and most trusted place Papua New Guineans turn to for live coverage of the moments that matter.
“We are building a national broadcaster that is ready for the big stage. What our team achieved this weekend gives us real confidence heading into 2027.
“PNG deserves to see its stories, its athletes and its nation live, and NBC will deliver,” Managing Director Nou said.
He also thanked the content partners, sponsors, staff and stakeholders for making the weekend's coverage ‘a resounding success.”