Cologne/Frankfurt am Main, Germany – Infront Sports & Media, the leading international sports marketing company, is to support the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) GmbH in its marketing activities with immediate effect. The newly established partnership will be implemented in close coordination with the BBL marketing team. The mandate includes the distribution of valuable sponsorship opportunities such as the Title Sponsorship (available as of the 2016/17 season) as well as the Referee and Timekeeper-Package.
The BBL – Germany’s highest basketball league with a total of 18 teams – has recorded steady growth for years. Since 2010, the average attendance has increased by 20 per cent to approximately 4,700 spectators per game. In the same period, the TV visibility of the league tripled, mainly due to the partnership with the Deutsche Telekom (Telekombasketball.de – where all matches are broadcast live). On an international level, the BBL is among the top three leagues in Europe.
Dr. Stefan Holz, Managing Director of the BBL GmbH, says: “In addition to our own efforts, we have decided to take one of the leading marketers on board. We are very happy to have found the ideal partner in Infront. We expect this to add further momentum to our central marketing activities, which we plan to expand greatly, as well as access to Infront’s national and international network of contacts. Over the course of the last seven years, we have demonstrated to current Title Sponsor Beko, that the league is an attractive platform, which delivers rapid and sustained brand awareness as well as positive image values, particularly also for non-domestic brands entering the German market.”
Basketball - a core sport in Infront‘s portfolio
With this cooperation, Infront is further strengthening its extensive international basketball portfolio. Long-term partnerships amongst others include partnerships with the Chinese Basketball Association for the CBA League and the Team China national team as well as with Turkey’s Spor Toto Basketball Super League.
Reinhardt Weinberger, Managing Director of Infront Germany, adds: “Basketball is developing in a very positive way in Germany and the Basketball Bundesliga – with its many young and digital-savvy fans – represents an attractive target group. Basketball has been a core sport in Infront’s portfolio for many years. We would now like to introduce our international experience as well as our network in the German market. Due to the highly appealing Title Sponsorship and the respectively high presence across all media channels, it is the ideal platform for brands seeking continuous nationwide visibility.”
About Basketball Bundesliga GmbH
The BBL GmbH, headquartered in Cologne, is the umbrella organisation of the 18 first division teams. It arranges the league and cup competitions and organises as well as markets the events TOP FOUR (cup finals) and ALLSTAR Day (entertainment highlight). The German Basketball Federation holds 26 per cent of the BBL GmbH’s shares. In the 2014/15 season, the total turnover of all clubs reached a new record with EUR 97.8 million. Around 1.5 million people follow the events live in the arena - with a spectator rate of approximately 90 per cent. Deutsche Telekom has secured the audio-visual rights up to the 2017/18 season and broadcasts up to 350 games per season live on its various platforms (Entertain, Telekombasketball.de) and devices (tablet, smartphone). The goal of the BBL GmbH is to be the best national basketball league in Europe by 2020.
About Infront Sports & Media
Infront Sports & Media is the most respected sports marketing company in the world, managing a comprehensive portfolio of top properties. Led by President & CEO Philippe Blatter, Infront covers all aspects of successful sporting events – including distribution of media rights, sponsorship, media production and event operation – and has won a reputation for its high standards of delivery. As the number one player in winter sport and with a leading role in football, summer and endurance sports, Infront enjoys long-lasting partnerships with 170 rights-holders and hundreds of sponsors and media companies. Headquartered in Zug, Switzerland, Infront has a team of more than 900 experienced staff working from over 35 offices across more than 15 countries, delivering 4,100 event days of top class sport around the world every year. In November 2015, Infront was integrated into Wanda Sports Holding, part of the Chinese conglomerate the Dalian Wanda Group.
