CBC has signed a three-year deal to air Toronto Raptors games — putting Canada’s only NBA team back on network television for the first time in four years.

The deal with owner Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment grants the Ceeb rights to broadcast up to ten regular season Raptors games in the coming season, and up to 20 each in the 2008/09 and 2009/10 seasons. The Raptors also have deals in place with TSN, The Score and Rogers Sportsnet for 2007/08. Games also run on the team-owned Raptors NBA TV digichannel.

‘This is a great time to get involved with the Raptors,’ said CBC Sports boss Scott Moore in a statement. ‘They have built a strong, exciting team, whose success will only continue to grow over the long-term, both on the court and in the Canadian marketplace.’

Game and air dates for the coming season have not yet been set. The last network to carry Raptors games was Global, which bowed out after 2002/03.