Basketball: BBL extends telecom contract – cup reform to come

BBL has extended the contract with its media partner Telekom for another five years. In addition, the cup competition will be repainted.

BBL and media partner Telekom have extended the contract for another five years until the end of the 2022/23 season, and the cup competition will be reformed after years of discussion. In the future there will be more teams, the Top Four tournament is after 25 years of history.

So far, the top six teams of the first round had played three places in a qualifying round for the final tournament introduced in 1993, the hosts were seeded. This is void. The clubs that finished the previous season in places one to 16 will participate in the cup – the two relegated and promoted teams will not be taking part.

“We always said the mode wasn’t set in stone. And since there was a desire to let more teams participate in this competition, we decided to take this step – especially as we expect further growth potential from this format,” said BBL Managing Director Stefan Holz after the working group meeting of the 18 clubs in Frankfurt.

The next season will be played from September 2018 to February 2019 and the respective pairings and the home rights will be drawn by lots. The same goes for the final. Many clubs had demanded an increase in the number of participants, now the step is being taken. However, an additional round must be accommodated in the narrow calendar.

All cup matches at Telekom Sport can still be seen live – and as usual, all league matches (306) including the playoffs (up to 35). The contract with the Bonn-based company, which expires at the end of the season, has been extended on a long-term basis and Deutsche Telekom retains comprehensive communication and marketing rights.