
Buzzer beater: Levelling the basketball stage in Europe with the NBA's push on personalised scheduling and enhanced apps to pull in viewers By Heather McLean
Thursday, February 6, 2025 - 14:53
Print This Story
Today NBA games are available to view in 47 European countries, in 38 languages, and through 36 broadcast partners and on NBA League Pass, its premium live game subscription service. Pictured, French player Victor Wembanyama at the NBA Paris Games 2025 [Credit: NBAE/Getty Images]
The NBA is pushing one of the most exciting sports globally out to viewers using personalised scheduling for European broadcasters as well as an enhanced app for fans, and importantly for the future, a revolutionised rights holders set up that will level the global stage.
When it comes to the fulfilling the dreams of basketball fans in Europe, today NBA games are available to view in 47 European countries, in 38 languages, and through 36 broadcast partners and on NBA League Pass, its premium live game subscription service.
Given the diverse European market, the way the NBA distributes that content in the region has been evolving over the last five to 10 years as well, in a bid to give fans a more significant and personalised viewing.
Historically the NBA delivered the same content to all markets over satellite, because everybody wanted the same game, states Bastien Lacheny, NBA vice president, global media distribution for Europe and the Middle East, the game of LeBron James or Steph Curry, but now in the last 10 years, I think we've seen so many different local superstars European superstars popping up and growing, that we have had to adapt .
That has meant a move to SRT and fibre distribution for a more efficient and cost effective delivery operation, and importantly, a personalised content service for broadcasters.
Speaking to SVG Europe, Lacheny elaborates: Games that are the ones that the actual local fans want and not just the best game of the night in a one size fits all strategy are important, because localisation is required. We're doing it increasingly.
We've put in place something that we call flexible scheduling that literally allows our partners to have the ability to pick different games, Lacheny continues. We always come to them at the beginning of the season with the schedule that we believe is the most relevant one, but on the basis of a local player or team performances, our broadcast partners have the ability to pick different games and to have ultimately the most relevant games delivered to the local fan.
And in addition to live game broadcasts, we now have 21 social media accounts in eight languages across five different platforms in Europe only. Our work and the work of the content team and the marketing teams and digital teams has become more exciting, because we have a lot of local players and local talent, but it's also a lot more granular and customised country by country, to make sure we deliver the most relevant content to every fan.
Last season was the NBA's most-viewed season ever across its social and digital platforms in Europe, surpassing 700 million video views in the region for the first time.
NBA players battle it out in the Spurs vs Pacers game in Paris on 25 January [Credit: NBAE/Getty Images]
Enhanced app
Lacheny comments on what is driving this exciting growth in fandom within Europe: There's the interest in basketball, in the NBA brand, and players, and the interest that is driven by local player in their home country and region. Fans in Europe want to watch their games and highlights on the devices and platforms they use most, and when it's most convenient for them.
He adds that the NBA has seen a transfer of the consumption of its video content from its website nba.com which when it launched in the late 1990s was cutting edge for the time, to the NBA app which was revamped in 2022 and where, he adds, we've also been adapting the experience and the user journey to what people are used to on social networks .
He goes on: So for instance, we've introduced a format that is very similar to the stories that you'll find on Instagram [on the app]. And that became a massive driver of the growth in terms of time spent and video views in just a few years, after we've relaunched a new version of the NBA app just a few years ago.
Global stage
Huge things are now afoot in the rights department for the NBA, where following an announcement six months ago, global rights holders are changing from regional and decentralised, to centralised and international. This is set to be a bonus for global fans of the sport.
Lacheny explains: We're basically coming from decades of an ecosystem where in most of the territories in Europe, we had one local partner that was owning our rights exclusively, to an ecosystem where rights will be shared between global and local partners.
The future is very exciting because it's going to be a big shift in the way we distribute our content, states Lacheny. Looking ahead to next season, we are delighted to have announced that we will continue our partnership with the Walt Disney Company, and begin new agreements with NBC Universal and Amazon Prime Video for the next 11 seasons, which means that we're going to have a lot of time to build up those partnerships together.
This deal stems from the US media rights domestic agreements, however, it is the most global deal ever made by the NBA. Explains Lacheny: Those three companies acquired content globally. This is also the first time that all the games are going to be available in the US on streaming platforms
And so you have NBC Universal that has acquired games in the Sky territories, in UK and Ireland, in Italy and in the German, Australia and Switzerland region. Amazon also acquired a package o
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
27/05/2026
Telestream has announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Benjamin Desbois as Chief Executive Officer, effective July 1, 2026. Desbois, currently Teles...
27/05/2026
ESPN garnered 10 awards; NBC's Sunday Night Football received the Outstandin...
27/05/2026
Matrox Video is celebrating its 50th anniversary, marking five decades of operations from its headquarters in Montreal, Canada. Founded in 1976, the company has...
27/05/2026
Major League Baseball has announced a series of initiatives tied to America's Semiquincentennial, including a national marketing campaign, Fourth of July br...
27/05/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has announced that Brian Gross has joined the company as an Account Manager on its Audio team, based in the Burbank office. He will...
27/05/2026
Nielsen has released new research on soccer fandom ahead of the FIFA World Cup 2...
27/05/2026
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has unveiled a new partnership with TikTok to bring broad...
27/05/2026
FIFA's Oscar Sanchez gives a deeper look to how this tournament will be cove...
27/05/2026
The soon-to-be senior from Charlottesville is building her skills in replay, TD, and even creative content for HokieVision and its ACC Network productions
In t...
27/05/2026
FOX Sports' Mike Davies breaks down the vision for this summer's showcas...
27/05/2026
HBS's Paul King, FIFA's Oscar Sanchez preview how the masses at home wil...
27/05/2026
FOX's MLB coverage dominated the night at the 47th Annual Sports Emmy Awards...
27/05/2026
One of the most memorable Postseasons in baseball history would have had no memo...
27/05/2026
NBC's Sunday Night Football is among the most decorated and most watched programs in the history of television. It added to its jam-packed trophy case on Tu...
27/05/2026
The 2026 Sports Emmys marked a watershed moment for Prime Video Sports. After bu...
27/05/2026
With the Opening Match just over two weeks away, the entire sports-production-te...
27/05/2026
Spotify already brings together listeners' favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks in one place. Now, we're trialing a new format that expands the cont...
27/05/2026
The best podcast moments deserve more than just a mental note. That's why today, we're making those moments easier to save and share with clips.
Whethe...
27/05/2026
On Purpose is one of the most popular podcasts in the world, known for conversat...
27/05/2026
On May 8, 1,500 of Olivia Rodrigo's top fans gathered in Barcelona's Tea...
27/05/2026
Hybrid design combines large-diaphragm capsule & ribbon
JZ Microphones have teamed up with Grammy-winning producer and engineer Marc Urselli to develop a ne...
27/05/2026
Three new plug-ins inspired by classic tape effects
AIR Music Tech's latest release delivers a set of plug-ins that aim to capture the character, moveme...
27/05/2026
Piano played on the edge of silence
The Crow Hill Company's Vaults collection offers a continual rotation of instruments that are given away for free fo...
27/05/2026
Recreates Moog's iconic Memorymoog polysynth
Arturia's vast software instrument range offers a combination of new and old, with innovative modern so...
27/05/2026
Offers loudness levelling for speech and dialogue
Accentize have built up a solid reputation with their audio-restoration tools, and their latest plug-in is...
27/05/2026
10,000 units strong - The Rohde & Schwarz R&S M3SR Radio 4400 Rohde & Schwarz celebrates a major manufacturing milestone, producing its 10,000th R&S M3SR Radi...
27/05/2026
The XL Converge 300P radio system emerges with a groundbreaking feature set enhancing the mission-critical communications of public safety, federal and critica...
27/05/2026
Pairing Two47 MCX software with existing LTE networks means tailored system upgrades that can save time, money and lives....
27/05/2026
PAC-3 MSE offers improved range, speed, and maneuverability, making it an effect...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Star Trek VFX: Recreating John Knoll's Iconic Warp Stars without a Slitscan ...
27/05/2026
Adventure World Uses Blackmagic Replay for Marine Live
Brie Clayton May 27, 2026
0 Comments
Large screen displays and slow motion replays dynamically ...
27/05/2026
Berklee Alumna and Assistant Professor Olivia P rez-Collellmir to Premiere Origi...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
27/05/2026
Co-founder Dan Castles to transition to Executive Chair; internal promotion reinforces continuity and long-term growth
Telestream, a global leader in media wor...
27/05/2026
Big Blue Marble today announced that its Nakolos platform is the first end-to-end 5G Broadcast solution worldwide to implement the complete feature set introduc...
27/05/2026
Lightware recently hosted the Girls' Day event in April at its headquarters in Budapest, welcoming students for an interactive introduction to engineering a...
27/05/2026
27 May 2026
VEON's Kyivstar and Uklon Launch Ukraine's First Live Testi...
27/05/2026
May 27th, 2026 May 27, 2026
Press Materials Available Here
TRIBECA X Announc...
26/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
26/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...