The London Lions defeated the Leicester Riders in the 2023 BBL final. (Bart Lenoir Photography/Shutterstock)

UK heavyweight pay-TV broadcaster Sky Sports has announced it will continue with and expand its coverage of the British Basketball League (BBL) for the upcoming season.

Sky will now cover 40 games across the campaign including the finals of the men’s and women’s trophies, the BBL All-Star Game, and the BBL playoffs, the final of which will take place at London’s O2 Arena.

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This represents an expansion from the previous 30-game-a-season deal Sky had with the league. The broadcaster has held the rights to the league since the 2020-21 season, when it purchased them on an initial two-year basis.

Games during 2023-24 will be broadcast on Thursday and Friday nights, with a new studio show and broadcast team in place from this season, which will include former Olympian Jeanette Kwakye MBE and ex-Team GB basketball star Ovie Soko.

The BBL campaign begins with five matches taking place on September 14, with the Newcastle Eagles vs. the Sheffield Sharks.

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Helen Falkus, Sky Sports director of Multi Sports, stated: "Domestic basketball continues to go from strength to strength and so we're delighted to be able to continue to bring our viewers more of the action from both the men's and women's competitions.

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BBL’s head of broadcast Mani Gill added: “Sky has given us a platform to help basketball grow exponentially in recent years, it's great to have their continued support and we know fans will be thrilled with the broadcast experience they'll enjoy this season."

The 2022-23 BBL was a “record-breaking” success which saw viewership rise by 217% across the season, with the playoff Finals recording 377% growth compared to the prior campaign.

Attendances also reached new highs as a record number of fans watched the three major finals, namely the BBL Cup, Trophy, and Play-Offs held in Birmingham, Glasgow, and London, respectively.

Around 15,000 fans were at the London 02 Arena as the London Lions competed for the domestic treble.

On social media, meanwhile, both live and on-demand video views jumped from 1.4 million to 20 million during the 2022-23 season, while engagements across all platforms increased by 492%.