The Boston Celtics franchise of US basketball’s NBA has announced a new partnership with digital sportsbook FanDuel, which sees the betting company serve as the presenting sponsor of an upcoming documentary series produced around the team.
Covering the Celtics' ongoing 2024 playoff run, All In: Boston Celtics is being produced by the Shadow Lion production company and entertainment agency, which boasts clients such as American football’s NFL and broadcaster Fox Sports.
The documentary will air on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), with selected scenes to also appear on broadcaster NBC Sports’ Boston regional network, an exclusive partner of the Celtics.
FanDuel is now the second active sportsbook partnered with the Celtics, coming after rival operator DraftKings, the official sports betting partner and daily fantasy sports partner of the NBA franchise.
FanDuel and the Celtics announcing their partnership followed the NBA’s Chinese arm partnering with car rental firm eHi.
The multi-year marketing partnership sees eHi become the official car rental services partner of the NBA China division, in a deal centered around the country’s mainland.
Through the tie-up, eHi will collaborate with NBA China on co-branded activations and fan engagement programs.
Speaking on the deal, NBA China chief commercial officer Wayne Chang stated: “Our marketing partnership with eHi will build on our longstanding relationship that is driven by innovation and fan engagement.”
NBA China and eHi first collaborated in 2016 on a slew of joint initiatives, and now as an official partner eHi joins a number of other prominent Chinese businesses such as the Ant Group financial technology giant as collaborators with the basketball league.
Ray Zhang, chair and chief executive of eHi, shed light on why it chose to partner with NBA China, saying: “The NBA represents a standard of professional, dedicated, competitive sportsmanship that delivers captivating experiences to its audience.
“We are confident that our collaboration will bring benefits to our customers and to NBA fans in China, and enhance their trust in eHi.”
