ESPN UK continues broadcasting Turkish Airlines Euroleague

Basketball followers in the UK and Ireland will be able to view the Turkish Airlines Euroleague from the beginning of the Top 16 phase of the season, following the news that ESPN and Euroleague Basketball have announced a new agreement for live and delayed coverage in the UK and Ireland.

The relationship between ESPN UK and Euroleague Basketball started in 2010 with television coverage of the 2010 Final Four. ESPN UK’s coverage has expanded each season since then.

Under the new agreement fans will be able to enjoy Turkish Airlines Euroleague with a weekly ‘Game of the Week’. ESPN’s coverage begins on 27 December, with the tipoff of the Top 16 phase of the competition when Montepaschi Siena faces Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv at 7:45pm. ESPN’s coverage will continue through the Top 16 phase, the Playoffs and reaching its pinnacle with coverage of the 2013 Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four, hosted this season at The 02 Arena in London from May 10 through 12.

In addition to games, ESPN UK will air the weekly ‘Euroleague Basketball Magazine’ show and will televise the documentary series ‘Basketball Cities presented by Turkish Airlines’ later this season.

Andrea Bassani, Euroleague Basketball’s chief of television and new media rights officer, comments: “We are very happy to continue collaborating with ESPN in the UK and Ireland markets, guaranteeing the best platform for Euroleague Basketball in the UK. One of our main goals this season was to find an ideal partner to broadcast the Euroleague games in the UK, where we are bringing our signature event, the Final Four. We are convinced that through this agreement with ESPN UK and the upcoming Final Four in London our basketball will prove to be something that sports fans in the United Kingdom enjoy immensely.”

Simon Potter, senior director of programming and production, ESPN EMEA, adds: “We’re very happy to continue to add to the variety of top sport that we offer to fans in the UK and Ireland, and feel that basketball fans now know ESPN is the home for hoops in the UK and Ireland – with the Euroleague joining the NBA and NCAA coverage.”