MILAN, 30 June 2010 – MP & Silva, a leading international sports media company, announced today that it has concluded a long-term, broad partnership with Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB), which will see the agency undertake the marketing and internationalization of Liga ACB – Spain’s top professional basketball league – as well as exclusively manage the distribution of the league’s global media rights.
Under the terms of the exclusive agreement, MP & Silva acquires the exclusive global media rights from the 2010/2011 season onwards, with respect of the current agreement in place in selected markets. The multi-year deal will encompass all media rights, including linear, non-linear, traditional, non-traditional, analogue and digital media platforms.
“Spanish basketball and Liga ACB have always been held in high regard, particularly when we consider that Spain is the reigning FIBA World Champions and that more Spanish teams are represented in the Euroleague than any other league, so we are pleased to forge this strategic alliance with ACB,” said Andrea Radrizzani, Group CEO, MP & Silva. “With Liga ACB boasting the likes of current European champions, FC Barcelona, as well as Real Madrid, who have won the European crown more times than any other basketball club, we have always been thoroughly convinced that the Liga ACB has tremendous potential to grow, thus we are looking forward to work with ACB to strengthen their global brand equity and broaden its reach to a wider international audience.”
“We are very excited to enter into this long-term, broad partnership with MP & Silva as they have proven credentials in managing top-tier sports media rights and delivering strong results, and we will rely on their knowledge and experience in commercial management of sports as Liga ACB embarks on the next phase of growth,” said Josep Senespleda, General Manager, Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB). “We have grand ambitions to grow Liga ACB globally, and the new partnership represents a new era in ACB’s history. We hope that by enlisting MP & Silva as our strategic partner, it would greatly help us to extend our market reach and broaden our fan base, not just in Europe but across different regions.”
About MP & Silva:
MP & Silva is a leading international sports media company that owns, manages and distributes television and media rights to some of the most prestigious sporting events, including Italy’s top professional football league, Serie A. The company operates worldwide through nine offices located in Singapore, Dublin, Dubai, Milan, Miami, Tokyo, New York, Hanoi and Monaco.
About Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB)
Founded in 1982, the Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB) is widely regarded as one of Europe’s top professional basketball competition. The 18-team basketball league features the likes of reigning European champions, Regal FC Barcelona and Real Madrid, who won a record-breaking eight European Championships and four Intercontinental Cups. ACB league has also provides the bulk of the players that form backbone of current world champions, Spain, that has also won silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and gold at the 2009 FIBA European Championships. Liga ACB has consistently churned out some of the world’s top basketball stars, including Barcelona’s Juan Carlos Navarro, Pau and Marc Gasol, Jorge Garbajosa, Rudy Fernández, Sergio Rodríguez, Ricky Rubio and a lot of players”.
