FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, on Thursday announced it has signed a five-year agreement with Mediaset Espana for the 2017-2021 period. During this time, Mediaset Espana will cover games through the Mediaset Sports channels and on the online platform mitele.es.
Centered around the Spanish men’s national team, the agreement begins with FIBA EuroBasket 2017 and then leads into the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers tipping off in November. Following the two-year qualifying period, Mediaset Espana will cover Final Round action from the first-ever 32-team FIBA Basketball World Cup in China (August 31-September 15 2019).
After FIBA’s flagship event concludes, Mediaset Espana will provide coverage of the home and away FIBA EuroBasket Cup 2021 Qualifiers and of the Final Round.
Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member, said: “Spain is one of the top basketball nations in the world and Mediaset Espana is the pre-eminent broadcaster in Spain. This is a perfect marriage to bring the best of national team basketball to the Spanish fans.”
Ghislain Barrois, Director of Cinema, Sales, Rights Acquisition & Distribution at Mediaset Espana, said: “Mediaset Sport is delighted to be further developing its relationship with FIBA. Thanks to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers, the Spanish fans will be able to witness regular national team basketball. Basketball has a very large following in Spain and we are looking forward to showcasing the exciting future generation of Spanish players as they strive for more and more success.”
The agreement was brokered by FIBA Media, the strategic partnership between FIBA and Perform, which is responsible for securing multi-year agreements related to FIBA’s new calendar of events.
