ESPN Agrees to Expand NBA Coverage in Africa
ADDIS ABABA – National Basketball Association (NBA) Africa and Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN) Africa on Thursday announced a multi-year agreement to provide expanded NBA coverage on the continent.
The agreement will see ESPN Africa broadcast a record of more than 180 NBA regular season and Playoff games each season, including the entire Conference Finals and Finals, beginning with the 2022-23 NBA season that tipped off last month.
It will also allow ESPN Africa to broadcast all 45 games live in primetime in Africa this season, as part of “NBA Saturdays and NBA Sundays presented by NBA 2K23”.
Additionally, ESPN2 will air the NBA Christmas Day games, NBA All-Star, the Play-In Tournament, the weekly magazine show “NBA Action,” the NBA Draft and the multi-game live look-in programme “NBA 360.”
“ESPN Africa airing a record number of NBA games and providing more locally-relevant content to our fans underscores the momentum for the NBA in Africa and will help us continue to grow the game across the continent,” said Kornelia Semmelink, NBA Africa Senior Director at Global Media Partnerships.
“Through this expanded collaboration, we will make the excitement of the NBA more accessible to fans in Africa on the devices and platforms they use most, including in primetime.”
ESPN Africa has been NBA Africa’s pay TV broadcast partner in Africa since 2019.
Featured image Caption: Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (6) defends against Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) during the second half of an NBA basketball game in Los Angeles, Saturday, March 5, 2022. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
