NBA and TNT Sports sign extensive TV-streaming rights deal in United Kingdom

The National Basketball Association will keep spreading its’ wings around the globe with their newest multi-year deal agreed with TNT Sports to broadcast more than 250 live matches through all of their streaming platforms in the United Kingdom. 

This means that BT and Warner Bros Discovery will join forces to show the league’s most important events, including the NBA’s new In-Season Tournament, the All-Star Weekend, and of course the playoffs. During this upcoming campaign, they will also provide this entertainment for more than 40 weekend matches during primetime slots.

Other official contests will be streamed through Discovery+, which will be supported by various programming and digital content that includes highlights and special reports. “We are hugely excited to be embarking on this journey with the NBA in the UK and Ireland,” said Trojan Paillot from WBD Sports Europe.

Welcome to the new home of the NBA in the UK and Ireland 🙌

Watch the NBA live on TNT Sports and discovery+ from October 24 🏀

— TNT Sports (@tntsports) October 16, 2023

“Fans watching basketball on our platforms will have much to look forward to, and we’re privileged to be able to lean on the outstanding foundation of TNT’s broadcasting of the NBA in the United States for over 30 years,” he further explained.

The WBD Sports vice president of sports rights acquisitions and syndication then talked about the importance of this merge and why it was a priority for them.

“When TNT Sports launched in July, we reaffirmed that premium rights were a priority for us, and the NBA falls squarely into that category. To have the best players in the world, competing in one of the toughest and entertaining competitions in world sport, is extremely exciting as we further extend our proposition in the UK and Ireland,” he shared.

Elsa Memmi, who serves as NBA Europe and Middle East’s vice president for global media distribution, is also excited about strengthening the relationship between the league and the United Kingdom.

“We are thrilled to build on our long-standing collaboration with TNT in the US to bring live NBA games and programming to our passionate fans in the UK and Ireland,” she said. “With regular weekend games in primetime, extensive coverage of our marquee events, and original programming and highlights, fans now have a new home for the NBA.”

NBA Africa also celebrated launch of new youth empowering program with support from Moroccan group

The NBA is also contributing with larger-scaled projects in Africa, after joining Morocco’s fertilizer giant OCP Group to launch a basketball development program which looks to benefit the youth through the sport.

This past Sunday, the league’s representation in Africa celebrated the release of the project in a city close to the capital of Casablanca, which further strengthens the multi-year cooperation deal between the NBA and OCP.

The initiative consists of making basketball more accesible to the North African youth by launching a Junior NBA league in many Moroccan cities, involving boys and girls teams from different local schools.

The Chief of Strategy and Operations for NBA Africa commented on the project, putting his trust in the sport to produce social change in poor communities and lift young children’s dreams.

“We look forward to building on the momentum of the inaugural Jr. League in Benguerir and Khouribga in 2019 and usingthe game to have a positive impact on more young people through this year’s programming,” said George Land.