Euroleague Basketball has signed a four-year partnership with IMG under which the agency will represent its live streaming, fastpath data and sponsorship rights in the betting, casino and gaming category for global and aggregated commercialisation of the Euroleague and Eurocup club competitions.
The new agreement expands on the existing one between the two parties, which was for consulting services to grow the exposure of the competitions in a number of countries.
Euroleague Basketball said IMG’s expertise within the gaming sector was key to its decision to agree to a long-term deal that will now see the sponsorship, data and livestreaming rights broken out and sold separately for the first time.
The new deal will also result in online gaming company Bwin stepping down as global sponsor for the category.
“This is an important step forward in the commercialisation of the league’s rights, and we couldn't have found a better partner for this than IMG,” Jordi Bertomeu, president and chief executive of Euroleague Basketball, said. “After the steady growth that we have experienced in the last 15 years, Euroleague Basketball is now one of the most attractive properties in European sports, and we as a league are constantly analysing the best ways of generating further revenues for the clubs.”