As part of this multi-year agreement, Canal+ will air the competition in French for the next three seasons in sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar and Mauritius.
Basketball Africa League (BAL) has announced its broadcast partners ahead of its debut season, with the competition set to reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 15 languages.
BAL, a 12-team joint venture between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (Fiba), will be broadcast by Canal+ and ESPN, which will air all 26 games across Francophone and Anglophone countries and territories in sub-Saharan Africa. Canal+ will also produce and distribute original ancillary programming, including the weekly magazine show ‘BAL Action’.
In the US, all games will be available on the ESPN+ streaming service, while the opening game and finals will also air on ESPNews. ESPN will air the opening game and finals in select countries in Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America, and all BAL games will air on ESPN’s digital platforms in those same regions.
After postponing its inaugural season last year due to Covid-19, BAL will now tip-off with an 18-game group phase with the 12 teams divided into three groups of four. During the group phase, each team will face the three other teams in its group once.
The first-ever BAL game on May 16 sees Rwanda’s Patriots Basketball Club take on Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers at the Kigali Arena in Rwanda.
