MIES (Switzerland) - FIBA has reached agreements with numerous broadcasters in Europe that ensures fans will watch international basketball through to 2025 on free-to-air TV. The new deals kicked in just as the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers got underway this week.

New agreements have been signed in Spain, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland and the Czech Republic, in addition to France, with an agreement announced this week with France Télévisions. These recent deals reflect a growing trend for free-to-air services to invest in FIBA's properties throughout Europe, a recognition of the rapidly growing popularity of national team basketball and the unprecedented demand from fans across the continent.

In Spain, home of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 champions, a deal has been struck that gives exclusive free-to-air broadcast rights to Televisión Española (TVE) - the national state-owned public-service television broadcaster in the country that operates La 1 - one of the biggest channels in the country - and Teledeporte. TVE are to broadcast all of the Spanish national team games from 2021-25 in both men's and women's events, including their respective World Cups and EuroBaskets.

TVE is also producing Spanish home games in the qualifiers for both the men's World Cup, and EuroBasket 2025. The deal coincides with the European Qualifiers for the World Cup with Spain playing at North Macedonia on Friday evening and are at home against Georgia on Monday night.

In the Baltic countries of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, TV3, the home of FIBA basketball in the region for some time, the rights for coverage runs through now to 2025 and started with this week's European Qualifiers for the World Cup. TV3 is the dominant media presence in the area and it has the highest audience share across both Lithuania and Latvia and has a substantial presence in Estonia.

Both Latvia and Estonia started their Qualifiers campaign on Thursday and Lithuania will host Bulgaria on Friday. As part of the deal, TV3 will provide the production of home games in each of the three countries for both the World Cup 2023 Qualifiers and EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers. 

The Poland men's national team is a hot item after first making it to, in 2019, the FIBA Basketball World Cup - their first appearance at FIBA's flagship event in more than half a century - and then reaching the Quarter-Finals. The Poles, who have risen to No.13 in the FIBA World Rankings, will continue to be seen on Polish Television (TVP) - the largest broadcaster in the country with its flagship TVP1 and TVP2 channels supported by its TVP Sport service.

TVP will produce and distribute all of the home games for Poland in the qualifiers for both the World Cup and EuroBasket 2025. They also have rights to broadcast additional games from these events, including all finals.

In the Czech Republic, Czech Television has acquired broadcast rights for the national team competitions for the 2021-25 cycle. Czech Television will also produce each of the home games for the national team in qualifiers for the World Cup and EuroBasket 2025. The Czech men's national team made an impressive run to sixth place at the World Cup in China and has a No. 12 FIBA World Ranking. 

Additionally FIBA and France Télévisions announced their new agreement this week. France Télévisions will show the national team games for both women and men through to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 across three free-to-air channels: France 2, France 3 and France 4.

 FIBA