Euroleague unveils long-term strategic partnership in China

Euroleague Basketball and HBN (Beijing Hualu Baina Film & TV Inc.) announced this week an agreement to form a brand new company in China that will manage the rights of Europe's premier professional basketball league and further grow its commercial opportunities in Asia's biggest market.

The agreement was reached in collaboration with11 Group, the company that had been managing Euroleague Basketball's interests in China for the last five years, and reflects the growth of the Euroleague brand in China that was achieved in that time span. Starting now and for an initial duration of five years, Euroleague Basketball will create an operational unit in China thanks to its deal with HBN. The agreement is set to have an overall duration of 15 years should certain commonly set objectives be met after every five-year period. The deal is worth more than €30 million for its aggregate duration.

Euroleague Basketball first landed in China eight years ago with CSKA Moscow and Benetton Treviso playing in exhibition games against Yao Ming's Team China near Shanghai. Its presence intensified starting in 2010 as Euroleague teams such as ALBA Berlin, Panathinaikos Athens, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona began playing almost annually against local teams in major Asian cities like Beijing, Hangzhou or Taipei, amongst others.

Euroleague Basketball also strengthened its relationship with China through other activities such as the participation of the Chinese National Team in the prestigious annual junior tournament at the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four; a professional exchange of Chinese coaches with Euroleague teams; the visit of Chinese basketball delegations to the Final Four; and the organization of youth basketball camps in China, with the participation of more than 600 students from primary, junior and high schools.

Euroleague Basketball's internationally recognized corporate social responsibility programme, One Team, became an integral part of the recent Asian tours by Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, whose stars dedicated their time in uplifting life-skills sessions with underprivileged children in Beijing and Hangzhou. Within this period, Euroleague games have experienced continuous growth in TV exposure through platforms such as CCTV, LETV, Chongqing TV, Guangdong TV Sports, Liaoning TV Sports, Guangzhou TV Competition, Shenzhen TV Sports and Xinjiang TV.

The newly created Chinese company will focus on enhancing Euroleague Basketball's presence in the country through exhibition games, professional activities and grassroots programmes, while will also focusing on strong investment to grow the Euroleague brand, to increase the exposure of its games on premium communication platforms, and to amplify commercial opportunities in the years to come. Partner HBN will also contribute to expand the Euroleague's reach across its wide media networks, which have a measured value of €2.93 billion.

"Euroleague Basketball is the top league of basketball in Europe," Liu Dehong, the CEO of HBN, said. "We are very excited about this agreement, which will bring Euroleague to China in the following years and will support the development of sports in our country."

"Five years ago, Euroleague Basketball and its clubs decided to invest significant resources in China due to the interesting mix formed by the popularity of basketball in the country and the potential learning and commercial opportunities there," Jordi Bertomeu, CEO & president of Euroleague Basketball said. "The agreement with HBN shows that this decision was right and that there is great potential in strengthening our ties with China."