The National Basketball Association (NBA) and T-Mobil (Deutsche Telekom MobilNet GmbH), the wholly owned mobile communications subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom AG (Frankfurt Stock Exchange: DT), announced a new marketing partnership agreement.
The multi-year deal, which establishes T-Mobil as the first official country-specific sponsor of the NBA in Germany, is an expansion of T-Mobil’s two-year event sponsorship that originated in 1999 with the T-D1 NBA Basketball Challenge. Open to players of all ages and abilities, the T-D1 NBA Basketball Challenge is an annual 5-on-5 outdoor basketball tournament throughout Germany which has attracted over 29,000 competitors in the past two years. T-D1 is the service brand of T-Mobil.
Deutsche Telekom will have exclusive NBA rights in Germany in the Fixed Line Local and Long Distance categories while T-Mobil, its mobile services arm, receives category exclusivity in Mobile Services. In addition, both brands will have rights to utilize NBA league and team logos, footage and photos in advertising and promotions.
‘Aligning with one of the world’s telecommunications giants emphasizes the global appeal and impact of NBA basketball,’ said NBA Commissioner David Stern. ‘As one of Germany’s most respected corporations, T-Mobil is the perfect company for us to partner with in Germany, a primary international market for the NBA.’
As an official sponsor of the NBA in Germany, T-Mobil will advertise on German broadcasts of NBA programming. T-Mobil will also run consumer-oriented NBA-themed promotions and have the opportunity to sponsor NBA pre-season games, interactive events, grassroots programs and competitions. The new agreement includes the continuation of T-Mobil’s sponsorship of the T-D1 NBA Basketball Challenge in 2001.
‘We are very pleased to expand our relationship with one of the leading sports leagues in the world,’ said Rene Obermann, CEO of T-Mobil GmbH. ‘The NBA remains a great vehicle for us to communicate with the league’s young fan base and this partnership reinforces our commitment to supporting basketball in Germany.’
The NBA is truly a global basketball league, reaching more than 750 million households in 206 countries and in 42 languages through its television broadcasts. The NBA’s international talent is now at an all-time high with 36 international players from 24 countries and territories. In addition, some of the NBA’s best players are competing for five of the 12 countries that have qualified for men’s basketball at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. This past decade, more than ten NBA teams and some of the greatest NBA players have travelled to Europe to compete against the world’s best basketball teams in international competition. The league has become increasingly accessible to international fans through its official Web site, NBA.com, with more than 35% of the site’s users logging on from outside the United States. With offices in Barcelona, London, Munich, Milan and European headquarters in Paris, the NBA has 15 offices operating around the world.
T-Mobil (Deutsche Telekom MobilNet GmbH) set up its operations as an independent company in 1993. Owned 100% by T-Mobile International AG, it has a workforce of about 8,500 and operates in one of Germany’s most dynamic growth markets. The sales it netted in 1999 amounted to approx. DM 9.8 billion, and the number of customers currently using its T-D1 network has reached about 15.4 million. With its affiliates in several European countries, T-Mobile International serves some 25 million customers and is one of Europe’s biggest network operators.
Contacts:
Matt Bourne, NBA, 212/407-8093 or mbourne@nba.com
Helen Wong, NBA, 212/407-8299 or hwong@nba.com
Philipp Schindera, T-Mobil, 0049 228 936-1773 or philipp.schindera@t-mobil.de