Euroleague Basketball

It is thought Fox was Discovery’s only rival bidder, but the broadcaster’s limited budget for sports rights did not allow an aggressive bid. Discovery, on the other hand, was very keen on the rights

EuroLeague Basketball has appointed Andrea Bassani as the media manager of its EuroCup club competition.

The Euroleague will face a litmus test for its new product this summer as it takes its media rights to market in France and Italy – two markets from which the competition is desperate to earn greater revenue.

NBA TV, the cable and satellite television broadcaster operated by the North American basketball league, has extended an agreement to broadcast the Euroleague continental club competition.

Euroleague Basketball has increased its media-rights income in the 2016-17 season by 36 per cent compared to 2015-16, and this will rise further in 2017-18 thanks mainly to a blockbuster deal in Greece.

The Euroleague has earned an increase of almost 170 per cent on the value of its media rights in Spain, reviving the property’s fortunes in the territory after a tough sales process last time.

Basketball’s Euroleague is close to a new media-rights deal in Greece even though its existing contract has two seasons to run, TV Sports Markets understands.

The Sports Channel has renewed a host of rights in recent weeks as it seeks to solidify its position in the Israeli broadcast market.

Basketball’s Euroleague said this week the complaint it lodged at the European Commission against the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) in February could have far-reaching consequences. 

Interview with Eduard Scott, chief operations officer of Euroleague Basketball, on the league’s complaint to the European Commission about Fiba and the recent Munich Court injunction against Fiba Europe sanctions.

Decisions made by national basketball federations to commit clubs to a new Fiba-run competition could scupper IMG’s hopes of refinancing its 10-season, €630m ($682m) joint venture with the Euroleague.

The IMG Events & Media agency said this week the income projections behind its newly-created 10-season joint venture with basketball’s Euroleague were “aggressive, but realistic”.

Increasing the value of its media rights is an essential bargaining chip for the Euroleague as it faces a threat to its long-term survival from Fiba, the sport’s global governing body.

Russian pay-television broadcaster NTV Plus has extended a rights deal for the Euroleague Basketball European club tournament.

German telecommunications Deutsche Telekom has acquired rights for the Euroleague Basketball club competition.

Internet video technology provider NeuLion has sealed a partnership with the Euroleague to support the club basketball tournament's new digital service.