FOX SPORTS and FIBA enter into landmark broadcast deal to show the Boomers and Opals exclusively live
MIES, Switzerland/WILLOUGHBY, Australia - FOX SPORTS has secured exclusively live rights to broadcast FIBA national team competitions featuring Australia's Boomers and Opals.
Under the unprecedented agreement, FOX SPORTS will show both men's and women's tournaments. This is in place for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and its Qualifiers - including the Boomers' home and away games - that get underway in November. The deal also factors in next year's FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, the FIBA Asia Cups for Men and Women as well as the FIBA Continental Cups Qualifiers.
FOX SPORTS CEO Patrick Delany said: "Basketball in Australia is booming thanks to the success of Australia's NBA stars, and our home-grown competitions, the NBL and WNBL, which will both be broadcast live on FOX SPORTS. The Boomers and Opals are enjoying unprecedented success, and both teams are shaping up to be genuine medal contenders at the upcoming World Cups. The next couple of years are crucial for our national teams, as they prepare to take on the world's best in a range of tournaments as part of FIBA's new competition system and FOX SPORTS will be the only place to follow their progress live. This deal reaffirms FOX SPORTS' commitment to providing a platform for Australian athletes and exposure for one of Australia's most popular sports."
FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Patrick Baumann said: "We are thrilled to team up with FOX SPORTS in bringing the very best of national team basketball to fans right across Australia. The close followers of the Boomers and Opals now know there is one place where they can watch and follow the games of their favorite players and teams."
Under the agreement, FOX SPORTS' rights include: the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and its Qualifiers, the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018, the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2020 (for Men and Women), the 2017 and 2021 editions of the FIBA Asia Cup, the 2019 and 2021 editions of the FIBA Women's Asia Cup and the FIBA Continental Cups 2021 Qualifiers (for Men and Women).
The announcement comes as the Boomers travel to Lebanon to compete in the FIBA Asia Cup 2017, which tips off on August 8. FOX SPORTS' exclusively live coverage of the tournament gets underway in prime-time at 20:30 Australian Eastern Standard Time (GMT +10) with a showdown between Kazakhstan and New Zealand, before the Boomers line up for their opening clash against Japan at 23:00. Australia will face two more pool clashes against Hong Kong (August 10) and Chinese Taipei (August 12).
FOX SPORTS is exclusively available on Foxtel.
The agreement was brokered by FIBA Media, the strategic partnership between FIBA and Perform, which continues to secure multi-year agreements related to FIBA's new calendar of events.
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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.basketball) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 213 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
For further information about FIBA visit fiba.basketball or follow FIBA on facebook.com/fiba, twitter.com/fiba, instagram.com/fiba and youtube.com/fiba.