Star Sports, the pay-television broadcaster, has snapped up rights to North American basketball’s NBA playoffs in the Indian subcontinent.
The network’s coverage began this past Saturday when the playoffs got underway, and it will show selected games throughout the postseason, including the entire NBA Finals, in India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Maldives, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
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The broadcaster is airing games on its Star Sports Select and Star Sports 1 channels and, in addition, will show daily highlights and classic NBA content through to end of the season.
The NBA did not have an Indian broadcast partner for live games in the 2020-21 regular season so this agreement immediately assumes vital importance in a crucial period in the campaign and given the league sees the subcontinent as a growth market.
Some 72 regular season games, plus the six play-in games, were available in India via the NBA's League Pass OTT subscription service.
Sony Pictures Networks was the last broadcaster to show live NBA games in the subcontinent, but its deal expired after the 2019-20 season, and although it was in talks with the league over a renewal, a new deal was not agreed.
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By GlobalDataIn February, the NBA signed a highlights deal in India with free-to-air state broadcaster Prasar Bharati, ensuring widespread coverage for the league in a key territory.
