Mediaset snaps up Fiba basketball tournament rights in Spain

Spanish commercial broadcaster Mediaset Spain has acquired domestic rights for the 2014 Basketball World Cup and the EuroBasket tournaments in 2013 and 2015.

Mediaset struck the three-year deal with Fiba, the international basketball federation, which operates the competitions.

Mediaset, which operates commercial channels Cuatro and Telecinco, will exploit the rights on television as well as online via its Mitele.es website.

The inaugural edition of the Basketball World Cup will be staged in Spain, with the Eurobasket being held in Slovenia and Ukraine in 2013 and 2015, respectively. The Spain national team will compete in all three of the tournaments and has won the last two editions of the Eurobasket, in 2009 and 2011.

“Basketball is a sport with a large following and great future potential in Spain,” Mediaset Spain’s head of rights acquisition, Ghislain Barrois, said. “This is the first time that Mediaset has included national team basketball in its sports offering and we are proud of doing it now, when the national team is at its best.”