Spanish Copa del Rey to be broadcasted in 141 countries
Broadcast agreement for Copa Del Rey
International broadcasting of the Spanish basketball Copa del Rey (King's Cup) will break all previous records by reaching a total number of 141 countries. Matches will be available in more than 230 million homes throughout the world, the biggest audience ever achieved for an ACB match.
The Vitoria-Gasteiz Copa del Rey fixtures will have the biggest international exposure ever attained for an ACB basketball game. Up to 141 countries and autonomous territories will receive the international broadcast that is provided by the ACB through multiple national channels and some of the main international platforms. This means that the matches will be available in more than 230 million homes (potential viewership) throughout the world.
With this in mind, the ACB will produce a broadcast which is personalised compared to that shown in Spain and which will also have official English commentary.
The ACB President, Francisco Roca wished to highlight that: "This Copa del Rey marks a new milestone in the internationalisation process of ACB competitions. This is a truly global event and it justifies our belief that the Spanish league is the most important in the world outside of the NBA. That's why so many top-level international players want to come and play in the Liga Endesa and they draw attention from the followers in their countries."
Regarding the progress of the international broadcasting of the ACB, Roca stated: "Very important steps have been taken on a quantitative level as well as on a strategic one, especially in Latin America, the Indian subcontinent and Africa. We already have a specific production for international broadcasts and the next step will be to formulate regional plans to set up ACB competition broadcasts in each territory, adapting them to the specific idiosyncrasies".
About the Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an elite basketball championship in Europe. The top eight teams of the Spanish Liga Endesa will compete in a Final Eight in the Basque town of Vitoria-Gasteiz, which will host more than 8,000 fans from visiting teams of an expected 15,000 total attendance. The competition will kick off on Thursday with the quarter-final games showcasing seven do-or-die games before crowning the Copa del Rey champion on Sunday night.
The Latin American connection
This tournament will doubtlessly be the most Latin American ever. This will be possible thanks to a huge deal between the ACB and FOX Sports Latin America, which covers all the countries of the Central and South American continent, with a total of 57 million subscribers. This deal is of great strategic importance to the ACB, due to the close historic and cultural connection between Spain and Latin America and due to the large number of Latin American players who have and continue to play in the Spanish competition.
The contract with FOX Sports Latin America is joined by another with SportsMax, the channel which will broadcast the Copa del Rey to 23 countries in the Caribbean area.
Europe: 18 countries... as well as Spain and Andorra
On a European level, the Copa will be broadcast throughout the Balkans (Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), Central Europe (Belgium, Germany, Austria and Poland), Northern Europe (Lithuania, Latvia and Finland), South-eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus) and also Israel.
Africa and the Middle East
The gradual introduction of ACB basketball into Africa increased until complete coverage of the entire continent was attained thanks to multi-national deals with Ma Chaine Sport, FOX Sports Africa and Zuku, whose broadcasts cover all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This total coverage is completed by North Africa and the Middle East region, in which the broadcasts are managed by Sharjah Sports.
Asia and India
In Asia, particularly notable is the agreement with Ten Sports, which covers India and 7 other countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives). The company adds 150 million subscribers to the total, a figure which would be unthinkable outside of the context of audiovisuals on the Asian continent.
The broadcasts will also reach Singapore and Taiwan through ESN.
Specific production
Starting this season, ACB has produced a specific signal for international broadcasts. It has various pertinent differences compared to the broadcast we see in Spain, both in terms of the content when the ball is not in play and on the publicity boards: both are entirely in English. To supplement this, the ACB also includes match commentary in English in the broadcasts.
Likewise, the ACB produces a weekly basketball news show, 'The 5th Quarter', which is distributed to all broadcasters with rights to supplement televised matches with mid-week content.
The Vitoria-Gasteiz Copa del Rey fixtures will have the biggest international exposure ever attained for an ACB basketball game. Up to 141 countries and autonomous territories will receive the international broadcast that is provided by the ACB through multiple national channels and some of the main international platforms. This means that the matches will be available in more than 230 million homes (potential viewership) throughout the world.
With this in mind, the ACB will produce a broadcast which is personalised compared to that shown in Spain and which will also have official English commentary.
The ACB President, Francisco Roca wished to highlight that: "This Copa del Rey marks a new milestone in the internationalisation process of ACB competitions. This is a truly global event and it justifies our belief that the Spanish league is the most important in the world outside of the NBA. That's why so many top-level international players want to come and play in the Liga Endesa and they draw attention from the followers in their countries."
Regarding the progress of the international broadcasting of the ACB, Roca stated: "Very important steps have been taken on a quantitative level as well as on a strategic one, especially in Latin America, the Indian subcontinent and Africa. We already have a specific production for international broadcasts and the next step will be to formulate regional plans to set up ACB competition broadcasts in each territory, adapting them to the specific idiosyncrasies".
About the Copa del Rey
The Copa del Rey is an elite basketball championship in Europe. The top eight teams of the Spanish Liga Endesa will compete in a Final Eight in the Basque town of Vitoria-Gasteiz, which will host more than 8,000 fans from visiting teams of an expected 15,000 total attendance. The competition will kick off on Thursday with the quarter-final games showcasing seven do-or-die games before crowning the Copa del Rey champion on Sunday night.
The Latin American connection
This tournament will doubtlessly be the most Latin American ever. This will be possible thanks to a huge deal between the ACB and FOX Sports Latin America, which covers all the countries of the Central and South American continent, with a total of 57 million subscribers. This deal is of great strategic importance to the ACB, due to the close historic and cultural connection between Spain and Latin America and due to the large number of Latin American players who have and continue to play in the Spanish competition.
The contract with FOX Sports Latin America is joined by another with SportsMax, the channel which will broadcast the Copa del Rey to 23 countries in the Caribbean area.
Europe: 18 countries... as well as Spain and Andorra
On a European level, the Copa will be broadcast throughout the Balkans (Bosnia, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia), Central Europe (Belgium, Germany, Austria and Poland), Northern Europe (Lithuania, Latvia and Finland), South-eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey and Cyprus) and also Israel.
Africa and the Middle East
The gradual introduction of ACB basketball into Africa increased until complete coverage of the entire continent was attained thanks to multi-national deals with Ma Chaine Sport, FOX Sports Africa and Zuku, whose broadcasts cover all countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This total coverage is completed by North Africa and the Middle East region, in which the broadcasts are managed by Sharjah Sports.
Asia and India
In Asia, particularly notable is the agreement with Ten Sports, which covers India and 7 other countries (Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan and the Maldives). The company adds 150 million subscribers to the total, a figure which would be unthinkable outside of the context of audiovisuals on the Asian continent.
The broadcasts will also reach Singapore and Taiwan through ESN.
Specific production
Starting this season, ACB has produced a specific signal for international broadcasts. It has various pertinent differences compared to the broadcast we see in Spain, both in terms of the content when the ball is not in play and on the publicity boards: both are entirely in English. To supplement this, the ACB also includes match commentary in English in the broadcasts.
Likewise, the ACB produces a weekly basketball news show, 'The 5th Quarter', which is distributed to all broadcasters with rights to supplement televised matches with mid-week content.
D. Destri
@IlDeriu
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