Inaugural Jr. NBA World Championship To Be Streamed by FloSports, Televised by Eleven Sports

Boys, girls competitions are first-ever global youth basketball tournament

Action from the first-ever Jr. NBA World Championship will be brought to the masses, thanks to a new deal between the NBA, FloSports, and Eleven Sports. FloHoops.com will stream seven Jr. NBA World Championship U.S. Regional competitions live and on-demand; selected games will also air live on Eleven Sports.

The competitions will bring together the top 13- to 14-year-old boys and girls teams to compete in their respective regions. The winning teams will advance to the Jr. NBA World Championship, a first-of-its kind global youth basketball tournament taking place Aug. 7-12 at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando.

“FloSports and Eleven Sports will tip off an exciting summer of Jr. NBA World Championship coverage in the U.S.,” said Kathy Behrens, president, social responsibility and player programs, NBA, in the announcement. “We are thrilled to bring the on-court competition to our fans, as elite boys and girls teams from across the country showcase the values of the game while competing for the opportunity to represent their region in our global event.”

FloHoops will live-stream from six courts during each three-day event, totaling more than 800 regional games. Fans can access live and on-demand coverage of the U.S. Regional competitions through FloHoops.com as well as FloSports’ iOS, Roku, and Apple TV 4 apps, and one of the six courts will also be broadcast on the Eleven Sports’ television network.

The Jr. NBA World Championship U.S. Regional competition schedule is as follows:

• Southeast Regional (already aired): Spartanburg, SC, June 1-3
• Central Regional: Lawrence, KS, June 8-10
• Midwest Regional: Westfield, IN, June 15-17
• South Regional: Frisco, TX, June 15-17
• Mid-Atlantic Regional: King of Prussia, PA, June 22-24
• Northeast Regional: Ardsley, NY, June 29-July 1
• Northwest Regional: Salem, OR, June 29-July 1

“The Jr. NBA World Championship is an ambitious event with global appeal, and we’re excited to provide coverage of the inaugural event,” said Adam Fenn, SVP, global rights acquisition and strategy, FloSports. “For basketball fans looking for the next generation of stars, there’s no better place to tune in this summer than FloHoops.com.”

The regional boys and girls team winners will receive all-expenses-paid trips to compete at the Jr. NBA World Championship. The culminating event will be separated into U.S. and international brackets, with round-robin competition followed by single-elimination boys’ and girls’ tournaments. The winners of the U.S. and international brackets will go on to play in the championship games on Aug. 12.

All Jr. NBA World Championship competitions will align with the NBA and USA Basketball Youth Guidelines, which promote player health and wellness and age-appropriate rules and standards. Participants in both the regional competitions and the World Championship event will also receive life-skills education off the court, often alongside current and former NBA and WNBA players.

The Jr. NBA World Championship adds to FloHoops’ year-round calendar of top college and prep basketball, which currently includes exclusive live coverage of the 2018 boys and girls Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) and the upcoming AAU Boys National Championships and Super Showcases. This past season, FloHoops aired top high school tournaments and showcases — such as the Hoophall Classic, City of Palms Classic, and Les Schwab Invitational — as well as Big Ten basketball and the Paradise Jam and Junkanoo Jam preseason college events. Recently, FloHoops inked a multiyear deal with EuroLeague Basketball to be the EuroCup’s official distribution partner in North America.

Eleven’s presentation of the Jr. NBA World Championship follows its recent coverage of the 2017-18 NBA G League regular season. It also holds NBA live rights in Belgium, Luxembourg, Singapore, and Taiwan.

The Jr. NBA World Championship regional games will be shown live in four of Eleven’s markets: the U.S., Belgium, Luxembourg, and Singapore. Showcasing the Jr. NBA World Championships aligns with Eleven’s strategy to reach dedicated fans, bringing them closer to the action and creating a go-to destination, where a community of passionate fans can access a range of content that is tailor-made for them. In the U.S., Eleven Sports is available on DirecTV Channel 623, Verizon Fios Channel 597, and AT&T U-verse Channel 1665. The games will also be streamed on Eleven’s new digital channel, Eleven Next, on twitch.tv. In addition, Eleven can be found on various other cable and OTT providers.

“Coming off our NBA G League deal, we are thrilled to distribute these inaugural games,” said Eleven Sports U.S. SVP/Managing Director Anthony Bailey. “With FloSports, this unique collaboration connects all of us, over any device, to an enormous number of young athletes whose stories will inspire the next generation of sports fans. This is the best youth basketball in the world. Eleven Sports’ mission is to serve dedicated fans in innovative and interactive ways. Our collaboration with FloSports and the NBA is instrumental to our mission and brings us one step closer to our vision.”