MIES (Switzerland) – FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, and sports marketing and data technology company Two Circles today announced a long-term strategic venture that will revolutionize the direct-to-consumer market for basketball content globally.

Aligning with FIBA’s vision to make basketball the world’s most popular sports community and the strategic objective to enlarge the FIBA family, the partnership will see FIBA and Two Circles develop, market and commercialize a completely new direct-to-consumer offering under the Courtside 1891 brand.

The new Courtside 1891 product aggregates scores, streams and schedules from a wide variety of basketball events and leagues across the globe. This comprehensive content offering, combined with a fresh and unique new brand, represents a bold and innovative departure from the typical digital offerings of sports federations.

The initial launch product for Courtside 1891 was made available on limited release for the recent FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 second window of qualifiers, played in February across the FIBA regions.

The Courtside 1891 venture will enable FIBA to develop direct, long-term fan relationships worldwide and build a greater understanding of global basketball fan behaviors and attitudes to help create new products and strategies. It will also create opportunities to deliver greater exposure and visibility for FIBA competitions alongside pan-regional and domestic leagues worldwide.

Andreas Zagklis, FIBA Secretary General, said: “We are delighted to embark on this venture with Two Circles. Growing the global profile of basketball and unifying the basketball community is a fundamental piece of our vision. With Two Circles’ expertise in digital strategies that engage audiences and grow direct relationships with fans, this partnership has already provided a new digital platform that all members of the FIBA Family will benefit from and will create unprecedented levels of engagement with our basketball fanbase.”

Gareth Balch, CEO of Two Circles, added: “Direct relationships with fans has become a valuable currency as sports properties transition from the analogue age of broadcast TV to the era of digital consumption and distribution. As an international federation, FIBA has a track record of innovation, and we are excited with the impact our data-driven approach can have in pushing the boundaries and initiating FIBA’s next phase of media distribution and digital fan engagement.”

FIBA and Two Circles’ partnership, which will initially run until 2029, has seen Two Circles invest substantial capital to develop new digital platforms and create a dedicated team covering product strategy, sales, marketing, data management and analytics.

Live streaming via Courtside 1891 is available in all key markets through free and paid subscriptions via 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 all leagues around the world and view highlights from a growing number of competitions, the ultimate vision is to create a truly personalized content feed for each individual basketball fan.

As part of priority developments planned for the service, Courtside 1891 will also become a hub to discover live content on other platforms, becoming the easiest place for fans to discover where and when they can watch live basketball from a range of competitions. Through this, FIBA will be supporting its broadcast partners in delivering FIBA action to the widest audience possible.

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Serbia’s world number one tennis player Novak Djokovic says most players have a negative view of playing in New York.

“Players may prefer clay court tennis to the US Open. For the US Open, we will have to sleep at the airport hotel,” he said.

Novak Djokovic said: “We will have two or three Tests every week, it will be impossible to bring only one person to the club.

“Athletes need coaches, fitness trainers and physiotherapists all the time,” he said.

It should be noted that the US Open is scheduled for August 31, the future of the event is likely to be decided next week.

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Rafael Nadal will play Novak Djokovic as Spain take on Serbia in the inaugural ATP Cup final in Sydney.

Top-ranked Nadal came from a set down to beat Australia’s Alex de Minaur 4-6 7-5 6-1 and give Spain an unassailable 2-0 lead over the hosts.

World number two Djokovic had earlier beaten US Open finalist Daniil Medvedev 6-1 5-7 6-4 as Serbia beat Russia 3-0.

Djokovic beat Nadal in straight sets in last year’s Australian Open final and leads their head-to-head 28-26.

He has also not lost to Nadal on a hard court since the 2013 US Open final.

The Australian Open – the first Grand Slam of the year – begins on 20 January, eight days after the ATP Cup finishes.

Nadal lost his quarter-final singles match to Belgium’s David Goffin and was punished for a slow start by De Minaur, who is at a career-high of 18th in the rankings.

However, as De Minaur tired, Nadal went up a level, racing to a 4-0 lead in the deciding set before serving out victory on his first attempt.

Roberto Bautistua Agut had given Spain a lead in the tie after breezing past Nick Kyrgios 6-1 6-4, before Feliciano Lopez and Pablo Carreno Busta won in the doubles.

“Novak likes to play here and Serbia has a great team and is playing very well,” Nadal said.

“But Roberto played an amazing match and we have a good team, so we are ready for it.”
Djokovic overcomes ‘most difficult challenge of year so far’
Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic is the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion

Djokovic has not lost a match at the event, although he has dropped sets in his past two matches against Medvedev and Canada’s Denis Shapovalov.

However, he was able to overcome the highly-rated Medvedev to seal Serbia’s place in the final after Dusan Lajovic had beaten world number 17 Karen Khachanov 7-5 7-6 (7-1).

Viktor Troicki and Nikola Cacic then made it a clean sweep in the doubles with a 6-4 7-6 (9-7) win over Teimuraz Gabashvili and Konstantin Kravchuk.

“Medvedev is one of the best players in the world and he showed today why,” Djokovic said after their rubber.

“This was the most difficult challenge I have had so far this year.”

The 16-time Grand Slam champion later withdrew from the ATP event in Adelaide, which begins on 12 January. The Australian Open – the first Grand Slam of the year – starts on 20 January.

The 24-nation event started with six groups of four teams, who each played three round-robin ties. The ties – comprising two singles matches and one doubles – are best of three.

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