PR no.21: Strong TV ratings for FIBA World Championship

JAPAN (FIBA World Championship) - The opening weekend of the FIBA World Basketball Championship in Japan has seen increases in TV audiences across major markets. This comes as a surprise given the time zones which have meant the matches are shown in the morning in Europe and during the night in the USA.

Italy experienced a 20% viewing share on Sunday as the national side overcame Slovenia. Serbia enjoyed a 33% viewing share for their match against Nigeria and in the USA 600,000 people tuned in during the night at 1am to see their team beat Puerto Rico.

Overall the TV ratings are outperforming the audiences from last year’s Eurobasket which was played prime times.

Matthew Osmon, FIBA Commercial Director says “With 150 record TV broadcast territories and accredited media for the Championships and great tickets and merchandise sales, we are witnessing a dramatic increase in interest in the World Championship.”

About FIBA Fact Sheet

FIBA, the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 212 national federations of basketball throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (I.O.C.). The main events are the FIBA World Championships for Men and Women held every four years and the various FIBA Zone Continental events held every two years.

The 2006 FIBA World Championships will be played in Japan (Men) from 19th August until 3rd September and in Brazil (Women) from 12th – 23rd September.