Euroleague Basketball, the organizer of prime European membership competitions, has renewed its broadcast partnership in Italy with pay-TV heavyweight Sky Italia.
The brand new deal, which can run by the 2027-28 marketing campaign, will see Sky Italia proceed because the unique broadcaster of each the top-flight EuroLeague and the secondary EuroCup, masking the competitions on each its linear channels and the NOW TV OTT service.
Sky Italia has held EuroLeague rights within the nation since 2021, with the published offers brokered by the EuroLeague’s strategic accomplice, the industrial company IMG.
This partnership extension will guarantee Sky continues to offer complete protection of the Italian groups competing in each competitions, in addition to a minimal of two further fixtures every gameweek.
Past fixture protection, Sky can even present shoulder content material and ancillary programming across the EuroLeague calendar, together with pre-match studio evaluation and distinguished protection on digital and social media platforms.
The 2025-26 season will see two Italian sides, Olimpia Milano (often known as EA7 Emporio Armani Milan for sponsorship causes) and home champions Virtus Bologna, each compete within the elite EuroLeague.
An additional two Italian sides, Aquila Basket Trento (often known as Dolomiti Energia Trento) and Umana Reyer Venezia, can even compete within the EuroCup.
Different EuroLeague sides that could be of curiosity to the Italian market embrace Turkish giants Fenerbahce and wild card entrant BC Dubai, which boast Italian nationwide group gamers Nicolo Melli and Awudu Abass, respectively.
This transfer is a lift for the EuroLeague in Italy, a market the place it faces competitors from the rival FIBA Basketball Champions League (BCL), which boasts the likes of Trapani Shark, Pallacanestro Trieste 2004, and Pallacanestro Reggiana in its 2025-26 lineup.
Lately, German facet Alba Berlin defected from the EuroLeague to the BCL, probably pre-empting a shift in thought amongst Europe’s elite basketball groups away from the beforehand commercially dominant EuroLeague, because the prospect of NBA funding hovers over the continent.
Trapani Shark president Valerio Antinini just lately commented on social media that EuroLeague viewership in Italy was “low” and that he wished that US basketball’s NBA would put money into the BCL to lift its degree, alluding to the mannequin of the EuroLeague (which is a partly closed, invitation-only competitors) as disincentivizing competitors.
Siamo qualificati , per la prima volta storica a Trapani, advert una competizione Europea. La Pallacanestro porterà squadre di livello, offrendo ai nostri tifosi un grande spettacolo. Dove ? Beh advert oggi non ho dubbi che sarà la BCL. Competizione che premia giustamente anche la…
— Valerio Antonini (@ValerioAntoPres) May 13, 2025
The BCL was established in 2015 as a manner for FIBA to wrest management of top-tier European basketball from the EuroLeague group, which is owned by its 12 everlasting member golf equipment, and will quickly show central to the physique’s plans, after it partnered with the elite US NBA competitors to collaborate on the institution of a brand new European competitors.
It’s recognized that the partnership will goal main European capitals comparable to Berlin for illustration within the competitors, with different main city centres comparable to London, UK, and Paris, France additionally mooted.
If so, then Alba might be the primary in a string of defections from the EuroLeague as non-permanent license holders, Paris Basketball, for instance, might flock to maximise revenues elsewhere.
