Euroleague Basketball and Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT are pleased to announce that Lithuania's premiere open TV network has acquired the rights to air Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup games for the next three seasons. The deal with LRT means the games move from a pay-only tv model to a mixed public and pay-tv model, thus growing the potential audience for Europe's top basketball competitions in the country.

LRT becomes Euroleague Basketball's new home in Lithuania

Euroleague Basketball and Lithuania’s national broadcaster LRT are pleased to announce that Lithuania's premiere open TV network has acquired the rights to air Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup games for the next three seasons. The deal with LRT means the games move from a pay-only tv model to a mixed public and pay-tv model, thus growing the potential audience for Europe's top basketball competitions in the country.

LRT will broadcast every Zalgiris Kaunas game in the EuroLeague and each Lietkabelis Panevezys game in the EuroCup. Moreover, the deal allows LRT to show one additional game per playoff round as well as all games from the EuroLeague Final Four. Likewise, LRT will have the rights to show an additional game from both the EuroCup Quarterfinals and EuroCup Semifinals.

"I would like to thank LRT for their support. We are extremely satisfied with this new agreement, which will bring both of our competitions, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup, to all Lithuanian citizens," Mr. Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, stated. "LRT bringing the best basketball on the continent to an open TV network in such a devoted market is key to making our popularity in Lithuania grow even more."

"LRT TELEVISION is broadcasted in all Lithuania’s territory, therefore all basketball fans in Lithuania will have the opportunity to watch games of BC Zalgiris and Lietkabelis Panevezys live and free of charge. Two decades ago LRT had exclusive rights to broadcast Zalgiris games in various European basketball tournaments, so we are all very pleased that the most popular sport in Lithuania will be again on LRT with the two top pan- European competitions, the EuroLeague and the EuroCup", – comments LRT Deputy Director General Gytis Oganauskas.

LRT's television network was launched back in 1957. LRT media group is owned by the public and its operations are funded by taxpayers. Therefore, its fundamental mission is to serve the public interest, which in such a passionate, basketball-loving country makes the decision to broadcast EuroLeague and EuroCup games a slam dunk!

Euroleague Basketball officials set to work on the upcoming 2020-21 season this weekend with their own virtual training camp, a comprehensive, four-day agenda of activities designed to offer the best game experience possible to both fans and participants of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup.

29th Clinic for Euroleague Basketball Officials sets sights on new season

Euroleague Basketball officials set to work on the upcoming 2020-21 season this weekend with their own virtual training camp, a comprehensive, four-day agenda of activities designed to offer the best game experience possible to both fans and participants of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup.

The 29th Clinic for Euroleague Basketball Officials covered, through on-line meetings, discussions and seminars, everything that in-person preparation events for new seasons have included in the past – and more.

A total of 70 referees and 16 referee coaches attended the clinic, which lasted from mid-afternoon Thursday until Sunday night. Six new referees were welcomed to the Euroleague Basketball refereeing collective during the weekend. They are: Benjamin Barth, Gentian Cici, Huseyin Celik, Luka Kardum, Kristaps Konstantinovs and Stanislav Valeev.

"As always, the focus was clearly on enhancing the application of the rules and our understanding of them with the coaches and players in order to make our game better for fans," said Richard Stokes, Euroleague Basketball Senior Director, Officiating. "We missed being in the same place to reacquaint ourselves and introduce our new referees in person, but our work agenda was as full as ever to ensure that, even at a distance, we have all angles covered for the new season."

Among the special guests was Ioannis Sfairopoulos of Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv, who gave the referees the all-important perspective of head coaches on Euroleague Basketball officiating for the new season.

"It was nice to be able to share the view of officiating through the coaches' eyes," Coach Sfairopoulos said. "I believe that we have the best group of referees possible, just as we have the best players and coaches in Europe. For us to exchange views and ideas, and to work together to find the right way to work, will only help the development of officiating and the working relationship that is required. These meetings set a solid foundation for the season ahead."

A review of officiating statistics and feedback from the 2019-20 season gave way to a number of points of emphasis that the referees will be applying in the season ahead, focusing on the shift to the perimeter game, accuracy of play-calling and on-court communication. Interspersed in the agenda throughout the weekend were discussions of specific plays and scenarios, as well as instant replay protocols coming from the previous season. Sports sciences experts addressed the referees on the subjects of their physical preparation and nutrition. In addition, sports psychologist Mar Rovira spoke over two days about dealing with feedback and mental mapping in the dynamic setting of a live basketball game for both referees and referee coaches.

"We focused on learning strategies to deliver and receive powerful feedback, working with referee coaches one day and with the refereeing crew the next," Rovira said. "The other big content we worked on was dealing with pressure and giving strategies to stay focused during the game. It is remarkable the importance that the officiating department is giving to the referees' mental preparation. Working on their mental side will definitely help increase the level of the game."

As every year, the clinic ultimately served to propel the continual learning among referees that contributes fundamentally to the constant improvement of the basketball experience for fans of Euroleague Basketball competitions.

"We had a very productive few days to get ready for next season," veteran referee Olegs Latisevs said. "The level of communication and the interaction between the participants during the clinic was on a highly professional level, and this was a key to the success and value of our work. Mar Rovira's sessions were amazing, giving us the theory behind what we had been doing intuitively before. Now we know that we are working on the right track about communication and education. Learning about the coaches' expectations concerning the referees, gave us a very good perspective with which to understand each other and communicate in the future. Now, we hope to get on the court as soon as possible to return to the job we love."

Sadness shook the basketball world on Friday as news spread that Michael Ojo, who debuted in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague last season with Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, had died after collapsing during a morning workout in the Serbia capital. He was rushed to a hospital but was not revived there. He was 27 years old.

Euroleague Basketball mourns Michael Ojo

Sadness shook the basketball world on Friday as news spread that Michael Ojo, who debuted in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague last season with Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade, had died after collapsing during a morning workout in the Serbia capital. He was rushed to a hospital but was not revived there. He was 27 years old.

Mr. Ojo, originally from Lagos, Nigeria, was a free agent since his contract with Zvezda ended on June 30.

Mr. Ojo was reported to have started an individual workout with his personal coach on the track at Partizan football stadium in Belgrade on Friday morning when, an estimated 15 minutes into his exercises, he collapsed and lost consciousness. An ambulance arrived and its crew attempted resuscitation measures, but without success. He was rushed to a hospital but never regained consciousness. He had no relationship with Partizan, whose stadium is used for individual workouts by athletes in many sports, some of whom witnessed Mr. Ojo's collapse on Friday.

Mr. Ojo had played in the Serbian capital with Zvezda the last two seasons, one in the 7DAYS EuroCup and last one in the EuroLeague. He played a total of 38 games in Euroleague Basketball competitions between 2018 and 2020 with totals of 195 points and 138 rebounds. Ojo also played for Florida State University from 2012 to 2017.

In a recent vlog for EuroLeague.net, Mr. Ojo explained that he had waited out suspension of the basketball season in Belgrade and eventually resumed workouts with Zvezda before the end of his contract.

Euroleague Basketball offers its condolences to Mr. Ojo's family, friends, teammates, coaches and the many fans who enjoyed his performances.

May he rest in peace.

You've been waiting a long time and it hasn't been easy, but now we've got some great news for you. The wait for the best basketball in Europe just got shorter. Get ready for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague WE'RE BACK PRESEASON TOUR.

Turkish Airlines EuroLeague WE'RE BACK PRESEASON TOUR

You've been waiting a long time and it hasn't been easy, but now we've got some great news for you. The wait for the best basketball in Europe just got shorter. Get ready for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague WE'RE BACK PRESEASON TOUR.

Euroleague Basketball will welcome elite basketball back to the continent by organizing a pair of preseason tournaments featuring some of the best EuroLeague clubs as the coaches and players fine-tune their games ahead of the regular season tip-off on October 1.

The first event will be at Zalgirio Arena in Kaunas, Lithuania, on September 12-13, 2020, featuring AX Armani Exchange Milan, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens, Anadolu Efes Istanbul and host Zalgiris Kaunas. Then the attention moves to La Fonteta in Valencia, Spain, where on September 15-16, 2020, FC Bayern Munich, Olympiacos Piraeus, LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and Valencia Basket will contend for a preseason title.

"We know how much our devoted fans have missed the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague. I can assure everyone that the EuroLeague has missed the fans, too," Euroleague Basketball President and CEO Jordi Bertomeu said. "The WE'RE BACK PRESEASON TOUR not only shortens everyone's wait for top-level game, but will also give players, staff, teams and us as a league a chance to prepare as necessary for the official games in October. Everybody wins with these two tournaments."

Both tournaments will feature two days of two games with the semifinals on the first day followed by the third-place and championship games the next day. Mark your calendars, because we're coming back sooner than expected!

Euroleague Basketball and its clubs have agreed on a unified set of guidelines in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic that are aimed at welcoming fans to arenas in the most comfortable way as soon as they are permitted to see games in person again.

Euroleague Basketball clubs set pandemic response guidelines

Euroleague Basketball and its clubs have agreed on a unified set of guidelines in response to the COVID-19 global pandemic that are aimed at welcoming fans to arenas in the most comfortable way as soon as they are permitted to see games in person again.

Because Euroleague clubs operate in 15 different countries with varying regulations from national health authorities, the guidelines are a collection of ideas, recommendations and principles that all Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup clubs can implement at their arenas in the coming season.

Specifically, the clubs have looked at various aspects of regaining the public's trust in attending live events and making it more convenient to attend in light of the developing situation on the continent. With that in mind, the clubs and league have recommended the following, steps amongst others:

* **Arena access scheduling**: Stagger arena entries over a period of time and spreading out physical access points to the venue.


* **Testing and circulation management:** Provide for individual temperature checks at access points and manage external and internal circulation to enhance social distancing for the whole duration of the event.


* **Dedicated arena sanitation protocols:** Enhance overall cleanliness, introduce sanitation protocols, and provide protective garments to working staff and spectators on game days


* **Epidemiology expertise:** Consult with certified epidemiology experts to support and endorse the implementation of safety protocols.


* **Flexible, socially distanced seating:** Create seating manifests for a variety of different social distancing measures when needed to allow ticket holders to enjoy the game from their reserved seats in the safest environment and according to the international and/or local regulations.


* **Hands-free technology:** Accelerate adoption of such measures as paperless ticketing or cashless payment solutions to limit crowded areas, long queues and touch points.


* **Customizable ticket payment methods:** Give fans the flexibility needed in unpredictable times by offering creative payment terms.


* **Ask for input from fans**: Accelerate the adoption of innovative fan-engagement measures, asking their opinions on the measures above and taking into account their insight when designing new ones.


* **Transparent and consistent communication:** Keep fans informed of all measures undertaken to ensure their comfort and safety once arenas doors open. Making sure that they know all protocols in advance will be key to a successful return of live games.

At league-wide meetings in the last week, clubs expressed their commitment to implementing the pandemic response guidelines in unison with regulations and advice from their respective governments and public health authorities. The clubs hold no higher priority than assuring fans of when and how it will be safe to return to arenas to enjoy Euroleague Basketball in person.



In a remote meeting held on July 9, 2020, the Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA) Shareholders reviewed and discussed the strategies needed to resume the Euroleague Basketball competitions and business heading into the 2020-21 season.

ECA Shareholders Meeting: 2020-21 decisions

In a remote meeting held on July 9, 2020, the Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA) Shareholders reviewed and discussed the strategies needed to resume the Euroleague Basketball competitions and business heading into the 2020-21 season.

Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball (EB) President & CEO welcomed the attendees and reported on the 2019-20 season. He included highlights of agreements made by the ECA Shareholders Executive Board since the season was suspended on March 12, and subsequently cancelled on May 25, including the decisions not to define any final standings, not to recognise a season champion and not to declare individual awards, as well as the exceptional club licensing system for the 2020-21 season.

The meeting continued with EB executives presenting evolution metrics of the unfinished 2019-20 season compared with the 2018-19 season, which due to the shortened nature of 2019-20 make them even more encouraging:

- 15% average growth* in fan interest across EuroLeague markets, 9% higher than interest in basketball, which also grew at a 6% pace. The growth was led by France, Israel, Turkey, Spain and Germany (source: Nielsen Sports)

- 15% growth in television audiences*, led by France, Italy, Israel and Germany (source: Nielsen Sports)

- Social media growth across all platforms**, averaging 11% in followers, 21% in reach, 25% in video views and 46% in engagement (source: Blinkfire Analytics)

- Euroleague.net growth of 9% in unique users, 13% in sessions and 22% in pageviews

- 94% growth in value delivered to commercial partners in digital channels

- 12% higher in-arena attendance, registering all-time records in average attendance per game (8,676 spectators) and in average venue fill rate (75%).

The meeting resulted in the ECA Shareholders taking the following decisions:

- Approved the 2020-21 exceptional temporary measures proposed to support the clubs in increasing revenues and reducing uncertainty to speed up recovery from the impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic, namely:

o An alternative clubs’ economic distribution model based on giving additional weight to market pool distribution (from 54% to 79%) in order to increase economic certainty for all clubs and mitigate uncertainty

o Introduction of 'Pandemic Response Guidelines', a group of health, security and commercial recommendations for teams to alleviate customers’ fears of attending live events, provide fans with customizable payment plans, and create transparent and exhaustive communication channels to increase trust by fans when deciding to attend EuroLeague or EuroCup games

o Additional commercial platforms to be accessible for clubs to increase their revenue opportunities, which include court and arena assets as well as additional audiovisual rights, as well as new aggregated commercial models

o Modified EuroLeague training camp dates, which may begin a maximum of eight weeks prior to EuroLeague Regular Season Round 1, or a maximum of five weeks prior to the first official game of the 2020-21 domestic league competitions (earlier date of the two)

- Approved the Euroleague Basketball 2019-20 financial closing and 2020-21 budget, as well as the clubs’ economic distribution

- Approved the proposed modifications of competitions bylaws

- Approved the proposed 2020-21 team lists for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup

Additionally, ECA shareholders were updated on the following topics by Euroleague Basketball executives:

- The state of negotiations with the EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA) and EuroLeague Head Coaches Board (EHCB) around potential European Framework Agreements with the aim to implement these from 2021-22 onwards

- The officiating department report, including 2019-20 performance, agreement with the Union of Euroleague Basketball Referees, Instant Replay System, 2020-21 referees release and recruitment, new measures to improve performance, communications with clubs

- Business performance rankings, to be shared with participating clubs as part of the EuroLeague Business Operations & Clubs Services activity (BOCS), with the objective of recognizing best performing clubs, incentivizing sharing, and fostering positive competition between them.

*The data, sourced from Nielsen Sports, Blinkfire Analytics and EuroLeague clubs, in order to be comparable audits covers the October-to-March period of each of the last two seasons and therefore excludes the end of the regular season, the playoffs and the Final Four, which traditionally bring further percentage increases in all metrics. In some cases, data from the unfinished 2019-20 season surpasses that of the entire 2018-19 season.

Euroleague Basketball has launched a new Digital Transformation Fund aimed at supporting Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs in projects that allow them to undertake a step forward in their digital transformation journey.

Euroleague Basketball launches Digital Transformation Fund

Euroleague Basketball has launched a new Digital Transformation Fund aimed at supporting Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs in projects that allow them to undertake a step forward in their digital transformation journey.

The fund is intended to help clubs carry out projects that will have a positive financial impact and solve some of the current digital operational issues that they are facing. The initiative takes advantage of the work that the Euroleague Basketball Business Operations & Club Services (BOCS) has done to help clubs benefit from each other's experience by sharing best practices to maximize revenues and create long-term business sustainability.

Roser Queralto, Chief Business Officer at Euroleague Basketball, said: "We firmly believe that it is important to proactively work at helping the clubs grow their market revenues. That is why we created EuroLeague BOCS two years ago, which is a unit that is exclusively devoted to sharing information amongst the clubs, researching best practices in the world of sports and entertainment applicable to the EuroLeague, and developing league-wide and individual plans to grow the business in every vertical. With the launch of the DTF, we are further supporting our clubs in all their efforts to improve their business operations and develop a solid backbone for all of their internal-facing and fan-facing operations."

The fund, which will count on the expertise of N3XT Sports – a sports consulting firm specializing in innovation, technology and investment strategy – in its execution, will assist clubs in the development of projects in the field of data collection, data analysis, data monetization and game experience.

In preparation for the launch of the fund, clubs were evaluated for their individual readiness to modernize and improve their digital systems. Those who applied to participate submitted detailed projects that were analyzed by and will be carried out with the support of Euroleague Basketball and N3XT Sports.

Mounir Zok, CEO of N3XT Sports, said: "We looked closely at the efficiency and effectiveness of the clubs' operations, at their physical and digital fan-engagement products, we analyzed their data architecture and developed a league-wide assessment report to assist the clubs and the league in determining best next steps. This step is absolutely critical because it provides an objective view of the digital, data, and technology capabilities of each individual organization and helps them develop the most efficient and effective digital strategy. As DTF evolves, our aim is to help the clubs' structure innovation activities, embrace digital and data as key assets for making decisions and for engaging with a new generation of customers and partners."

Among the improvements that the clubs plan to put into action are customer relations management and fan loyalty programs meant to build closer relationships with supporters; mobile app development with the integration of third-party services; market research into fanbases, markets and business-to-business opportunities; ticketing and access control systems; development of partner activations; and cooperation with startups, to name a few.

The Digital Transformation Fund is a two-year project that 12 teams have joined to improve their knowledge of and relationship with their supporters through increased digital expertise that ultimately enhances the basketball experience of the future for the key stakeholders of the competition – the fans.

The ECA Shareholders Executive Board met remotely on Monday, July 6, 2020, to agree on a set of proposals and discuss additional topics

ECA Shareholders Executive Board continues discussions to plan for the 2020-21 season

The ECA Shareholders Executive Board met remotely on Monday, July 6, 2020, to agree on a set of proposals and discuss additional topics, namely:

* Exceptional temporary measures for the 2020-21 season:

	- An alternative clubs economic distribution model based on giving additional weight to market pool distribution in order to increase economic certainty for all clubs and mitigate the uncertainty created by the COVID-19 global pandemic
	
	- 'Pandemic Response Guidelines', a group of health, security, and commercial recommendations for teams to alleviate customers’ fears of attending live events, provide fans with customizable payment plans, and create transparent and exhaustive communication channels to increase trust by fans when deciding to attend Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games
	
	- Additional commercial platforms to be accessible for clubs to increase their revenue opportunities, as well as new aggregated commercial models
	
	- Modified training camp dates, which may begin a maximum of eight weeks prior to EuroLeague Regular Season Round 1, or a maximum of five weeks prior to the first official game of the 2020-21 domestic league competitions (earlier date of the two)
	
	- Studying the delivery of a series of official preseason tournaments during the month of September 2020
	
* Reviewed Euroleague Basketball’s 2019-20 economic closing and 2020-21 forecast

* Agreed on continuing discussions around improved Financial Stability & Fair Play Regulations to increase the league’s and club’s sustainability and competitive balance, with the objective of approving the new criteria during the 2020-21 season

* Agreed on the 2020-21 bylaws proposals for the Euroleague Basketball competitions

* Reviewed the state of negotiations with the EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA) and EuroLeague Head Coaches Board (EHCB) around potential European Framework Agreements with the aim to implement these from 2021-22 onwards

All decisions taken by the Executive Board will be presented at the ECA Shareholders Meeting for formal approval, to be held on July 9, 2020.

Euroleague Basketball singled out three clubs for their outstanding work off the courts over the past year by naming them the recipients of the annual Devotion Marketing Awards. Anadolu Efes Istanbul is the Gold Award winner for 2019-20, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade was selected for the Silver Award and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul for the Bronze Award.

Efes gets the gold in Devotion Marketing Awards

Euroleague Basketball singled out three clubs for their outstanding work off the courts over the past year by naming them the recipients of the annual Devotion Marketing Awards. Anadolu Efes Istanbul is the Gold Award winner for 2019-20, Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade was selected for the Silver Award and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul for the Bronze Award.

The winners were announced during the virtual EuroLeague Business Area Directors Meeting on Wednesday with their colleagues and other top executives from Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup clubs watching.

To enter the Devotion Marketing Awards, clubs were invited to present a marketing initiative they had carried out during the previous season in areas such as digital strategy, sponsorship activation, brand development, ticketing and game presentation.

Efes was named the overall winner on the strength of its new action plans and strategy during the COVID-19 crisis. The club made health the center of its campaign and integrated fans, season-ticket holders and sponsors to maximize the effect. The club arranged numerous digital events on its web site and through social media. Efes also focused on ways to digitalize the game experience to generate innovative content and new revenue models.

Zvezda achieved new record attendance during the 2019-20 season after investing in an upgrade of the in-game experience for fans. The club paid special attention to families and young fans while improving activities during halftime and timeouts. Likewise, Zvezda unveiled a "Together we Stand, together we can" campaign to commemorate it’s the club's 75th anniversary and collaborated with Billy Baron on his Billy Gym training program on Instagram during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Fenerbahce and its name sponsor Beko teamed up on a global initiative, "Eat like a pro" to empower new generations to live healthier and to help parents to feed their children healthier foods. The program both created awareness and engaged Fenerbahce fans in innovative and fun ways. The use of Fenerbahce players in the program, both in person and through social media, was a pillar of its success.

Congratulations to the winning clubs, and to all the others who submitted outstanding entries!