DAZN secures exclusive Fiba World Cup rights in Japan, Canada

Sports streaming service DAZN has acquired exclusive rights in Japan and Canada to the upcoming Fiba Basketball World Cup in China.

DAZN has also confirmed that it will hold non-exclusive rights in Spain to the tournament, which runs from August 31 to September 15. Spanish commercial broadcaster Mediaset also holds rights to the Fiba World Cup.

The Fiba World Cup begins on August 31 with Angola’s game against Serbia in Foshan and concludes in Beijing on September 15. It will mark the first time that the tournament has been held in China, and the first 32-team edition of the event.

In 2016, Fiba signed a wide-ranging strategic partnership with DAZN Group which resulted in the creation of the Fiba Media joint venture.

Fiba Media oversees the management of sports rights as well as live TV production, broadcast services, data and editorial distribution of Fiba events globally. The joint venture runs until 2033 and covers major Fiba tournaments including Olympic qualifying tournaments and the Fiba World Cup.

Meanwhile, DAZN Canada has announced that it will not be carrying content from pay-television broadcaster beIN Sports for the upcoming football season, meaning that subscribers will not have access to Spain’s LaLiga, France’s Ligue 1 or the Copa Libertadores South American club competition.

In a statement posted on its Twitter account, DAZN Canada assured subscribers that it will remain the exclusive home of the Uefa Champions League, Europa League, English Premier League and Italian Serie A, and continue to show “hundreds” of Major League Soccer matches.

DAZN struck a content partnership with beIN Sports back in August 2017 to coincide with its launch in Canada.