ESPN signs basketball deal with FIBA

ESPN will become the new broadcast home of international basketball for the next four years, having agreed to an exclusive partnership with FIBA, the International Basketball Federation.

The deal will include rights to broadcast all FIBA’s international events, including all 38 games from the upcoming FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022, from September 22nd to October 1st in Sydney– including all Australian Opals games, live and exclusive.

ESPN is also the broadcast home for the FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023, to be jointly hosted by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, along with all FIBA Men’s Basketball World Cup 2023 Qualifiers and FIBA’s Continental Cups.

The Boomers’ upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 qualification series against China and Japan will also be live on June 30, July 1 and July 3.

Kylie Watson-Wheeler, Senior Vice President & Managing Director of The Walt Disney Company in Australia & New Zealand and Head of ESPN/National Geographic, APAC said: “We’re thrilled to be adding the Australian Opals and Boomers games to our comprehensive basketball line-up, which already includes the NBA, NBL, WNBA and NCAA.

“The broadcast partnership further extends ESPN’s leading position as ‘The Home for Hoops’. It comes at an exciting time for local basketball fans, with the Boomers fresh from taking their first medal at the Tokyo Olympics and our iconic Australian Opals readying to compete in the Women’s World Cup on home soil in September. It’s terrific to see these incredible female athletes front and centre for our ESPN viewers.”

Frank Leenders, FIBA Media and Marketing Services Director General, said: “This is excellent news for sports fans in Australia. With women in basketball being a strategic priority for FIBA, and specifically, the goal of increasing the number of fans consuming women’s basketball, this partnership with ESPN brings with it new synergies that will make basketball more accessible and enjoyable for Australian fans leading up to our flagship women’s event in Sydney this September.”

Haydn Arndt, ESPN General Manager said: “Basketball has seen terrific growth over the last few years, thanks to the Boomers and Opals recent success and the NBL achieving record crowds and viewership this season.

“Having the Opals feature in a home World Cup is really exciting and we can’t wait to deliver our viewers a tournament to remember, showcasing the best female basketball talent from around the world.”

Talent lineup and broadcast schedule for the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup will be announced soon.