BT Sport and NBA Expands Television Partnership

The National Basketball Association (NBA) and BT Sport have expanded their television partnership that will provide fans in the UK and Ireland with an enhanced NBA viewing experience.

As part of the agreement, which will begin with the 2015-16 season, BT Sport will broadcast up to seven live games per week throughout the regular season and the first and second rounds of the play-offs, as well as every game of the conference finals and NBA Finals in June, all appearing across BT Sport 1, BT Sport 2 and ESPN.

Major NBA events, including NBA All-Star, Christmas Day and Martin Luther King Day will also be covered exclusively on TV by BT Sport. NBA fans will be able enjoy the NBA on new platforms thanks to the wider television distribution of NBA programs and highlights and the inclusion of a weekly free streamed game via the BT Sport website and app, as well as NBA platforms, capable of reaching more than 20m broadband households  in the UK.

“I’m delighted that BT Sport will continue as the home of the NBA in the UK and Ireland,” says Simon Green, CEO of BT Sport. “The NBA is simply the best basketball in the world and this year we will broadcast even more live and exclusive NBA games than ever before.”

The partnership will also feature co-operation between BT Sport and the NBA on production of games in 4K, which delivers 4000DPI, or four times as much resolution as most current televisions in 1080DPI. The NBA Global Games London 2015 that featured the New York Knicks and the Milwaukee Bucks was the first ever NBA game captured in ultra high-definition 4K.

“Through the extension of our partnership with BT Sport, fans can continue to enjoy a wealth of NBA content and programming in the UK and Ireland,” says Elsa Memmi, NBA VP of Global Media Distribution, EMEA.  “BT Sport has proven to be the ideal partner to serve as an official TV destination of the NBA in the UK and Ireland and we look forward to collaborating further to provide fans with live NBA games, highlights, magazine shows, unique behind-the-scenes programming and more.”