Euroleague Basketball has signed a digital media partnership with Lithuanian platform 15min.lt.
The agreement will commence from the 2018-19 seasons of the EuroLeague and EuroCup club competitions. The deal designates 15min.lt as an official premium media partner and will run through to 2022.
Euroleague Basketball introduced the concept of premium media partners in 2013 to connect with fans of the competitions in their own languages. Users of 15min.lt will now be able to access videos, news and features in Lithuanian, with exclusive sections about the two competitions to be launched at the beginning of the 2018-19 season.
Lithuania is a traditional basketball country featuring one top EuroLeague contender – Zalgiris Kaunas. Lithuania was also represented in the second-tier EuroCup this season with Lietkabelis Panevezys and two-time EuroCup champion Lietuvos Rytas.
Ramunas Saucikovas, chief executive of 15min, said: “Lithuania loves basketball. It is not only a feeling, that's what our readership data shows. Basketball news is the most popular sports content, and the numbers for our basketball portal’s readership grew by 49 per cent last quarter in comparison to the same period last year.”
In recent years Euroleague Basketball has partnered with media companies from different markets to develop country-specific offerings as well as global EuroLeague and EuroCup coverage for fans.
Existing partners include L'Equipe in France, Gazzetta.gr in Greece, La Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy, Sports.ru in Russia, AS in Spain and Fanatik in Turkey, as well as official global media partner Eurohoops.