Johannesburg – South African fans of the National Basketball Association will be able to share in the excitement of that League’s 75th anniversary year after the SABC agreed a deal to broadcast games that include the Finals next year.
This Saturday’s match-up between the Washington Wizards and the Boston Celtics will be the first to be televised on the public broadcaster. Doing so will further broaden the footprint of one of the most popular leagues in the world.
“As part of the partnership, SABC Sport will air more than 35 games throughout the season, including a Christmas Day game, NBA All-Star Saturday Night, Conference Finals and The Finals, broadcast live or delayed, on SABC 1 and the SABC Sports Channel on the DTT, TelkomOne and Openview platforms,” the SABC said in a statement on Wednesday afternoon.
The popular magazine show ‘NBA Action’ will also be broadcast weekly, as part of the deal.
“SABC Sport is incredibly thrilled to add one of the world’s most exciting and respected leagues to its live sports offering, as we know that there is a sports audience which loves the game of basketball in Mzansi,” said SABC Sport General Manager, Gary Rathbone.
“In bringing this great global sporting spectacle to our viewers, the SABC will also be setting out to inspire and entertain a whole new generation of basketball fans all over the country.”
“We are thrilled to once again partner with SABC, beginning with our milestone 75 th Anniversary Season. Through this partnership we look forward to bringing the excitement of the NBA to more of our passionate fans in South Africa as part of our continued commitment of making basketball more accessible across the continent.” said the NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams.
Saturday’s game between the Wizards and Celtics will start at 11pm, it will be preceded by a pre-game live studio presentation at 10.30pm.
IOL Sport