United Media will hold rights to show the popular March Madness. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

United Media, the Southeast Europe-based media company, has signed a multi-year deal with major US sports broadcaster ESPN to show NCAA basketball and American football in the Balkans.

Through the agreement, United Media will provide exclusive broadcasts on its Sportklub pay-TV channel in Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia.

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The deal will also include sports documentary shows and access to an extensive archive of boxing matches.

Viewers in the Balkan territories will have the opportunity to watch at least five American football and NCAA basketball matches every week.

Additionally, Sportklub will show the popular ‘March Madness’, the NCAA basketball tournament that determines the national champion, as well as all the Bowl games, the marquee events in the American football season.

The American football campaign begins at the end of August and runs through December, featuring all 43 Bowl games.

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The basketball season, meanwhile, is scheduled to run from November to March. Sportklub will be broadcasting all the games from March Madness, which will culminate in the Final Four event in 2024, taking place in Glendale, Arizona, from April 6 to 8.

Nemanja Simeunović, Sportklub chief executive, said: “American college sports were a fundamental part of our programming schedule when Sportklub was first established. We are thrilled to once again provide our viewers with the opportunity to witness the exceptional talents of athletes from around the world.

“Simultaneously, the intense rivalries between universities, coupled with their approach to sports, closely resonate with our perspective in Europe. We are equally excited about our access to the ESPN archive, as it will allow us to revisit the early mornings spent watching boxing matches.

“The addition of high-quality documentary shows will further enrich Sportklub’s offerings, making them even more diverse and appealing.”