LONDON AND BELGRADE, July 2019 – The National Basketball Association (NBA), Telekom Serbia and Arena Sport, today announced a comprehensive multiyear partnership to provide the most expansive NBA coverage to fans in the Balkans across Arena Sport’s broadcast, digital and mobile assets.
As part of the partnership, Arena Sports will broadcast more than 200 live NBA games each season, including up to eight regular-season games per week, the NBA Playoffs, Christmas Day Games, NBA All-Star, the Conference Finals, The Finals and up to an additional seven live games per week on NBA TV – the league’s 24/7 dedicated channel. As part of the partnership, Arena Sports will become the presenting partner of the Jr. NBA program in the region, with clinics and camps to be announced at a later date.
In addition to broadcast distribution, Telekom Serbia – Arena Sport’s parent company – will provide NBA League Pass packages directly to their customers in Serbia. NBA fans will have the option to watch two live games per week free of charge with NBA League Pass “Game Choice”, or they can use an exclusive discount to purchase a full season of NBA League Pass that will allow them to watch every game live. This service will be available at a later date for fans in Croatia and Slovenia through local telecommunications companies.
“Becoming a member of NBA family is an important step, whether you are player or a broadcaster,” said Nebojsa Zugic, CEO of TV Arena Sport. “NBA is a synonym of basketball and our region is the home of basketball. The NBA deserves maximum exposure and we can now proudly say that Arena Sport is the address where the best basketball will live in the upcoming years. Our subscribers and viewers will enjoy the magic of the NBA through live game coverage on Arena Sport, with the addition of NBA League Pass and NBA TV channel in their homes.”
“Arena Sport is a leading media company in the Balkan region and the ideal partner to help engage the NBA’s local fanbase,” said NBA Associate Vice President Media Distribution EME Bastien Lacheny. “The region has produced some of the greatest players to ever play the game, from early pioneers to an exciting group of up-and-coming players and All-Stars. Fuelled by this passion, basketball has become part of everyday life in the Balkans, and we are thrilled to provide fans with our most comprehensive coverage ever in the region.”
Fans can watch NBA League Pass live and on-demand across computers, tablets and mobile devices, as well as on a wide variety of connected devices. NBA League Pass includes NBA Mobile View, which delivers a closer shot of the action optimized for viewing on the smaller screens of tablets and phones.
Fans in the region can also download the official NBA App on iOS and Android for the latest news, updates, scores, stats, schedules and videos and follow the NBA on Instagram at NBAEurope.
Opening-night rosters for the 2018-19 season featured 17 players from the Balkan region, including 2018 Mtn Dew Kickstart Rising Stars game MVP Bogdan Bogdanović (Sacramento Kings; Serbia), 2019 NBA All-Star Nikola Vučević (Orlando Magic; Montenegro), 2019 NBA All-Star and 2018-19 All-NBA First Team member Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia), and 2018-19 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia).
