"VAN" (Sports Desk - 28.05.2025) :: Basketball fans in France will benefit from a brand new partnership that will see TF1 Group broadcasting all French national team games at major FIBA events free-to-air until 2029.
The network will become the dedicated home for both teams, with men's and women's games being shown for the next five years. The deal will tip off at the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 and run all the way through until after the curtain falls on FIBA EuroBasket 2029.
TF1 Group, home to Europe's largest private television channel, will broadcast games across their full spectrum of services, including free to air channels TF1, TMC, and TFX - as well as on their market-leading TF1+ streaming service.
Fans don't have long to wait to get closer to the action, with the French women's team looking to continue the momentum of their stunning run to the Final in last year's Paris 2024 Olympics.
They head into the FIBA Women's EuroBasket next month as one of the big favorites and ready to end their 16-year wait for the title. The team gets their campaign underway in Piraeus, Greece, on June 18 against Türkiye in what is set to be an exciting opening game of the competition.
Also riding high after their exploits at last year's Games in Paris, the attention will then turn to the FIBA EuroBasket 2025, where the French men's team will head to Katowice, Poland. They will face Belgium on August 28 and also Slovenia, Israel, Poland and Iceland in the first phase as they look to go one better than the last edition in 2022, when they had to settle for second place.
The highly anticipated FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 in Berlin, Germany, is also on the menu, while there will be intense interest in the biggest event in the international calendar when attention turns to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 in Doha, Qatar.
With the deal also encapsulating the 2027 and 2029 editions of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket, the agreement will conclude with the FIBA EuroBasket 2029, with co-hosts Estonia, Greece, Spain and Slovenia having only just been confirmed.
Frank Leenders, Director General of FIBA Media and Marketing Services, stated: "We are thrilled to have been able to reach this agreement with TF1 Group and it's exciting for the fans in France that they will be able to enjoy so many national team games across all of the biggest FIBA competitions.
"There is unprecedented interest around both French national teams after their respective achievements on home soil at Paris 2024 last year, and this partnership will assist in raising their profiles even further."
Julien Millereux, Head of Sports at TF1 Group, said: "We are excited about this new partnership with FIBA, on its flagship competitions. After silver medals in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and with the brilliant generation of talents coming up for both men's and women's National Teams, basketball is reaching a momentum in France. With the unique marketing and exposure power of TF1 Group linear channels and streaming platform TF1+, we trust our Group can bring basketball to the next level in France."
The agreement, negotiated by FIBA Media - the strategic partnership between FIBA and DAZN - will ensure that international basketball is shown to the biggest possible audience in France and contribute further to the continued growth and popularity of the sport.
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