German sports broadcaster Sport1 has extended its free-to-air rights deal for the Basketball Bundesliga (BBL), the sport’s top tier in the country.
Sport1 has held the role since 2009 and has now struck a new five-season deal, from 2018-19 to 2022-23. Sport1 will begin its coverage on September 28.
Under the sublicensing deal – agreed with the league’s main rights partner, telco Deutsche Telekom – Sport1 will show up to 47 live games per season. This will normally comprise a regular-season game at 3pm on Sundays, along with up to 13 games from the play-offs.
Olaf Schröder, chief executive of Constantin Medien and chairman of the management board of Sport1, said: “The long-term continuation of our partnership for another five years underlines the confidence of both the league and Telekom in this successful model with a continuous free-TV presence as well as all-round coverage on Sport1.de, our apps and social media channels. With the BBL, the DEL [Deutsche Eishockey Liga] and the Volleyball Bundesliga, three of the leading German sports and their national top leagues have their free-TV home on Sport1.”