By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Executives from the Euroleague Basketball clubs came together in two meetings on Thursday to put their final stamp on exciting changes coming to the top two competitions in Europe from the 2016-17 season onwards.
The ECA Shareholders Meeting approved a series of steps to enhance the organisation of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague as it transitions to a ground-breaking format in which all the best teams and players play all others every season for the first time in European team sports.
The club and domestic league executives heard about the EuroLeague’s significant growth last season in digital, mobile and social media audiences as well as projected audience and broadcasting increases under the new format. The shareholders heard the officiating department report as well as being informed about new game presentation content that will take effect in the 2016-17 season, among other changes.
On the economic front, the clubs learned that Euroleague Basketball closed the 2015-16 season with an 18% higher budget result than projected at the beginning of the season. At the same time, the clubs saw the projected economic distribution among them for the upcoming season, the first in which investment is factored in from the new joint venture between Euroleague Basketball and IMG.
The EuroCup Clubs Meeting was held in the morning including a review of that competitions new 24-team competition structure, including best-of-three playoff series to decide the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals. The clubs also heard details of a new partnership agreement that will result in the 7DAYS EuroCup, incorporating its first naming sponsor ever.
All officiating and administrative costs of the competition will be covered by Euroleague Basketball, at the same time that the clubs were informed of the economic distribution according to each team’s sports results.
The meetings marked the final governance steps to set the stage for a new season that begins some of the most significant and far-reaching changes in European club basketball history as decided together by the 40 best clubs on the continent.