The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and sports marketing and data technology company Two Circles announced a long-term strategic initiative that will revolutionize the direct-to-consumer market for basketball content worldwide.
Consistent with FIBA’s vision to make basketball the world’s most popular sports community and its strategic goal of expanding the FIBA family, the partnership will enable the development, marketing and commercialization of an entirely new direct-to-consumer content under the Courtside 1891 brand of FIBA and Two Circles.
The new Courtside 1891 product will collect scores, broadcasts and schedules from a wide variety of basketball events and leagues around the world. Combined with a brand new and unique new brand, this comprehensive content offering represents a bolder and more innovative move than typical digital content from sports federations.
The first launch item for Courtside 1891 was available in limited edition during the second qualifiers of the last FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, played in FIBA regions in February.
The Courtside 1891 initiative will enable FIBA to develop direct, long-term fan relationships around the world and better understand global basketball fan behavior and attitudes to help create new products and strategies. It will also create opportunities for greater visibility into regional and local leagues as well as FIBA competitions around the world.
Commenting on the initiative, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said: “We are delighted to start this initiative with Two Circles. Growing the global profile of basketball and uniting the basketball community is a core part of our vision. Engaging with audiences and building direct relationships with basketball fans with Two Circles’ expertise in digital strategies, this partnership has already provided a new digital platform for all members of the FIBA Family to benefit from and will create an unprecedented level of engagement with our basketball fan base.”
The partnership of FIBA and Two Circles will initially run until 2029. To date, Two Circles has invested substantial capital into developing new digital platforms and building a dedicated team covering product strategy, sales, marketing, data management and analytics.
Live streaming via Courtside 1891 will be available in all major markets via free and paid subscriptions through all major browsers and operating systems. While fans can currently subscribe to live streams of FIBA’s national team events, access live scores from almost every league in the world, and see highlights from a growing number of competitions, the ultimate vision is to create a truly personalized content stream for every basketball fan.
As part of the primary developments planned for the service, Courtside 1891 will become a hub for discovering live content on other platforms, making it the easiest place for fans to discover where and when to watch live basketball from various competitions. In this way, FIBA will support partner broadcasters in making FIBA events reach the widest possible audience.
