MIES, Switzerland/MILAN, Italy - FIBA on Friday announced it has agreed a deal with Sky Italia for exclusive rights to national team events until 2021.

The agreement will be great news for Italy’s basketball fans, who will be able to follow both the men’s and women’s national sides live, with exciting content from both on and off the court.

The partnership will start with the 2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) taking place in the Italian city of Turin from 4-9 July and go on to include all qualifiers and major championships, such as the International Basketball Federation's flagship events, the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019 and the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2018.

All continental competitions will also be covered by Sky Italia, including the 2017 and 2021 editions of the FIBA EuroBasket, as well as the 2021 edition of the FIBA Americup, FIBA Asia Cup and FIBA AfroBasket Cup.

Sky Italia is the first agreement to be announced by FIBA since their ground-breaking (2017-2033) partnership with leading media group, Perform, creating FIBA Media, a joint venture between the two organisations, committed to increasing the value of the basketball fan experience. 

It is also the first agreement to include FIBA's new competition system, which comes into effect in November 2017 and will herald a new era for basketball. Over a four-year cycle, more than 140 national teams will play regular home and away qualification games to guarantee their place at their Continental Cups and the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the pinnacle of national team basketball.

Matteo Mammi, Sky Italia Sport Rights, Programming and Production Director, said: "We consider basketball as a golden opportunity for the coming years and we are excited to partner with FIBA on the new national team’s international format and on such a long term co-operation. We are looking forward to working together and continuing to serve basketball fans as well as contributing to the growth of the basketball movement in Italy.

"The Sky-FIBA deal makes Sky Sport HD the home of the Italian national team and the flagship FIBA international events will expand our exclusive basketball portfolio which includes Serie A Beko Men's Italian Championship, NBA, NCAA and Euroleague (on FOX Sports HD).

"The new international calendar will bring great benefit to the coverage since it will provide longer-term frequency and consistency in the programming with all-year regular visibility of the national team, thus enhancing the potential of basketball on TV." 

Patrick Baumann, FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member said: "This exclusive partnership is great news for Italian basketball. Italy is a very important market for FIBA and it is a tremendous pleasure to see the national sides return to the biggest stage, which is best symbolised by the men's team playing in Turin and challenging for a spot at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. 

"We are also delighted to both extend and increase the commitment of our relationship with Sky Italia, who were exemplary partners at EuroBasket 2015." 

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.com) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 215 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
 
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