The University of Hawaii at Manoa Athletics Department has struck a historic deal with Hawaii News Now (HNN), revolutionizing how fans across the islands can enjoy Rainbow Warrior and Rainbow Wahine athletics. Beginning July 1, 2026, this four-year partnership will shift the primary home for local broadcasts from a subscription-based model to free, statewide television distribution, significantly expanding access to UH sports.
This collaboration marks a return to the broadcast home of UH’s most historic era, with K5 serving as the primary outlet for live games, original programming, and year-round coverage. The expanded distribution of K5, along with additional platforms, will make UH sports more accessible than ever to fans across Hawaii and beyond.
Expanding Access to UH Athletics
Through this partnership, UH Athletics will leverage HNN’s broad statewide reach across K5, KGMB (CBS), and KHNL (NBC/Telemundo), nearly doubling the number of television households able to watch local broadcasts of the Bows. Beyond the islands, Gray Media’s national footprint will create new opportunities to showcase UH Athletics through special programming distributed to audiences across the country.
K5 broadcasts will also be available nationally through the new Mountain West app, significantly expanding access to Rainbow Warrior and Rainbow Wahine athletics beyond Hawaii. In addition to HNN’s 110-game broadcast schedule, dozens of additional UH events will be available through the app via productions led by UH Athletics. HNN and UH will also explore opportunities to showcase select campus productions across HNN stations.
Year-Round Engagement and Student Development
As the official broadcast partner of UH Athletics, HNN has committed to broadcasting a minimum of 110 home sporting events per year, including all available football, men’s basketball, women’s basketball, men’s volleyball, and women’s volleyball games, plus broadcasts of baseball, softball, and women’s soccer. To sustain year-round engagement, HNN will also launch a 24/7 Warrior FAST Channela free streaming, always-on destination for UH fans featuring classic games, original series, player features, behind-the-scenes storytelling, and exclusive content.
The agreement represents an estimated annual partnership value of approximately $7.5 millionreflecting a model designed to create broader long-term value for UH Athletics. The partnership includes expanded statewide access, significantly more televised events, year-round storytelling and promotion, student development opportunities, initiatives that support NIL community value for student-athletes, and shared revenue opportunities tied to campus productions and the Warrior FAST Channel.
A key focus of this partnership is year-round storytelling and promotion across HNN’s leading broadcast, digital, streaming, and social platforms. Leveraging Hawaii’s largest local media audience and social footprint, the partnership will deliver 365 days of coverage through student-athlete features, behind-the-scenes storytelling, original programming, and content designed to showcase the UH experience and strengthen the visibility of Rainbow Warrior and Rainbow Wahine athletics.
Mentorship and Educational Opportunities
In addition to broadcast excellence, the partnership includes a robust mentorship and educational component. HNN will dedicate seven positions for the UH partnership and provide hands-on training for UH students in sports production and management. This initiative aims to build a sustainable media pipeline in Hawaii by coaching the next generation of storytellers using professional-grade broadcast standards.
We are honored to support UH Athletics’ vision and showcase the excellence of these student-athletes to the worldsaid Katie Pickman, General Manager of Hawaii News Now. Our goal is to make UH sports easy to find and free to enjoy for every fan on every island, truly making them ‘Hawaii’s Team’ across all platforms.
This partnership underscores HNN’s deeply rooted commitment to local programming and community engagement across the islands. HNN has a proven track record of producing and distributing Hawaii’s most culturally significant events, including the Merrie Monarch Festival, the Kamehameha Schools Song Contest, the Nā Hōkū Hanohano Awards, and more. By integrating UH Athletics into its year-round ecosystem of storytelling, HNN continues its mission of celebrating local excellence and building lasting connections within the Hawaii community.
