Global basketball governing body FIBA has agreed a new broadcast partnership with French commercial broadcaster TF1, ensuring widespread distribution for the country’s national team.
TF1 linear channels, including the primary TM1, Monaco-focused TMC, and entertainment-focused TFX, will showcase all French men’s and women’s national team fixtures through 2029, as will the group’s TF1 Plus streaming service.
This will include major tournament coverage from the likes of FIBA’s quadrennial men’s and biennial women’s EuroBasket continental competition.
The deal will begin with the 2025 Women’s EuroBasket, which will begin on June 18 and run through June 29, with France (third-placed side in 2023 and 2024 Olympic runners-up) among the favorites.
Also included will be FIBA’s top-line Basketball World Cup events, with the next women’s edition to be held in 2026, and the men’s tournament the following year.
This new broadcast partnership was brokered by FIBA Media, the body’s commercial joint venture with sports OTT service DAZN.
As with the French women’s team at Paris 2024, the men’s team also finished runners-up, losing out in a narrow contest with the US 67-66.
This has helped to spark an “unprecedented” basketball interest in France, according to FIBA director general for media and marketing services, Frank Leenders, with prominent US-based players such as Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Guerschon Yabusele, and Bilal Coulibaly all representing the national team.
TF1 Group head of sports Julien Millereux added: “After silver medals in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris and with the brilliant generation of talents coming up for both men’s and women’s national teams, basketball is reaching a momentum in France.
“With the unique marketing and exposure power of TF1 Group linear channels and streaming platform TF1+, we trust our Group can bring basketball to the next level in France.”
This is the second such enhanced broadcast deal in Western Europe for FIBA in the first half of 2025, after securing an expanded deal with Germany’s ProSieben and Deutsche Telekom in April.
Last week (May 23), the body also announced Estonia, Greece, Slovenia, and Spain, as the joint hosts of the 2029 men’s EuroBasket.
Most basketball coverage in France is provided by OTT streaming service DAZN, which holds the rights to the domestic LNB Elite competition and FIBA’s Basketball Champions League continental club tournament.
The NBA, meanwhile, is shown by pay-TV heavyweight BeIN Sports, as well as OTT streaming service Prime Video. Sportcal