By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Euroleague Basketball and IMG are proud to announce that fans in Spain will continue to enjoy the very highest level of European club basketball thanks to renewed agreements with both TV3 Catalunya and Telefonica Movistar to broadcast the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague for the coming seasons.
The ongoing commitment and investment from both broadcasters comes at the start of a new and exciting era that promises their viewers more EuroLeague games than ever before with all of the continent’s top teams playing each other for the first time in European club basketball history.
“Just like Spain has great teams and great fans, we have great television partners whom we are thrilled to keep working with as we take unprecedented steps forward for our sport in Europe,” Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, said. “It all comes down to how well our fans are served, and we know from experience that the viewers of Telefonica Movistar and TV3 Catalunya will get to see the EuroLeague at its best going forward.”
TV3 Catalunya has been a broadcast partner of Euroleague Basketball for more than a decade. As the host broadcaster of FC Barcelona Lassa home games, TV3 Catalunya commands a devoted audience to its region’s top club. Catalonia’s knowledgeable basketball fans also rely on TV3 Catalunya to offer coverage of the EuroLeague in its entirety, including a selection of games featuring other teams and the league’s weekly highlights show.
Telefonica Movistar has been broadcasting EuroLeague games since buying Canal Plus in the middle of a three-year contract with Euroleague Basketball. This renewal speaks to a strong relationship developed in a short time, one that is highlighted by Telefonica Movistar’s successful role as host broadcaster of the 2015 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Madrid. Fans in the Spanish capital have gravitated in droves to Telefonica Movistar’s great production quality and broad-based content about of the league.
The renewed agreements, which include much higher investments by both broadcasters than ever before, demonstrate that the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague’s appeal is growing exponentially as viewers look forward to a historic opportunity to see their teams play against all the best clubs and stars, guaranteed, something never seen before in elite European team sports.
During the 2015-16 season, Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games were covered with more than 25,000 hours of broadcasting time around the world last season and generated an accumulated TV audience of 2.4 billion, of which 750 million was digital viewership. All of those figures are expected to rise in the new season with an increase to 30 regular season games before the playoffs and Final Four.