Germany’s national telco Deutsche Telekom will launch its basketball channel at the beginning of the upcoming season.
Telekom Basketball will show all up to 350 games of domestic basketball league Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) live in HD quality on Telekom’s IPTV platform Entertain as well as on PCs, smartphones and tablets.
The channel operated by BBL will be available to all Telekom customers with a standard contract and an internet flat-rate without additional fees. From September 19, 2014, they will be able to register for access through Telekom’s hotline, the online customer centre or in Telekom’s local shops. Entertain customers will find the new service in the TV menu.
All other sports fans will be able to sign up for Telekom Basketball as part of a yearly subscription for €9.95 per month or a one-month subscription for €14.95. For smartphones and tablets (iOS/Android) there will be apps while access through the open internet will be possible on the website www.telekombasketball.de. Subscriptions can be signed up for at this site from September 19.
Live coverage will start on September 27 at 20.30 CET with the transmission of the BBL Champions Cup taking place in Berlin with participation by cup winner Alba Berlin and current champion FC Bayern Munich.
Selected games will also be shown on free-to-air TV. Telekom is currently negotiating with interested broadcasters.
In June 2014, Telekom acquired all national and international audiovisual media rights of BBL for the next four years.