BARCELONA — October 18, 2005 — Euroleague Basketball has renewed its television contract with Canal+ of Poland (Cyfra+) for the next three seasons (2005 to 2008). This contract, signed by way of the Bonivest agency, guarantees broadcast of Euroleague Basketball games in Poland during all phases of the competition, from the regular season through the Top 16 and playoffs to the Final Four. Jacek Okienczyk, Sports Director at Cyfra+, and Beata Ryczkowska, Station Director, have expressed their great interest in guaranteeing broadcast of the more than 60 games of each of the three seasons during which the contract is in vigour, offering Polish fans a high quality product with a Global reach.

This season Cyfra+ will broadcast all of the games of the current Polish League champion, Prokom Trelf Sopot.   The contract in Poland adds to the existing Canal+ contracts in France, as well as other providers in Greece (Supersport), Russia (RTR Sport), all of which expire in June 2007.  There are also contracts in force in Italy (Sky Italy), Israel (IBA1), and Lithuania (LRT), which end at the end of the current season (2005/06). Finally, there is also a contract with Viasat in Lithuania until the end of the 2008/09 season.

According to Andrea Bassani, TV Director of Euroleague Basketball, “the agreement with Cyfra+ renews our commitment to our fans in Poland. Cyfra+ offers high quality programming and their sport production unit has a good reputation for producing professional coverage of major sporting events like Euroleague Basketball.”

About Euroleague Basketball

Europe’s premier basketball competition, Euroleague Basketball, was founded in 2000 under a private organizational model that is considered a breakthrough for European professional team sports. The competition features 24 clubs from 12 or more countries per season and crowns its champion each spring at the Euroleague Final Four, one of the signature events of European sports. The 2006 Euroleague Final Four will take place in Prague, Czech Republic, April 28-30. Basketball in Europe has experienced spectacular growth in recent years, side by side with the development of Euroleague Basketball. In just five years, Euroleague Basketball has consolidated a competition of the highest sporting level, has introduced the concept of a commercial league to Europe and has expanded its television reach beyond Europe, where 98.7 percent of all Euroleague Basketball games were televised in 2004-05, to Africa, the Middle East, North America and South America. Euroleague Basketball attendance has increased 79% from the inaugural 2000/01 season.

About Canal+

Canal Plus Group is a French film and television studio and distributor. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Vivendi Universal and has a film library in excess of 5,000 films. Vivendi Universal has sold some parts of Canal Plus to private investors, which are still using the name of Canal Plus.  The Polish digital pay-TV platform Cyfra+ was launched by the Canal Plus Group in 1998.

In the Netherlands, France and Spain the flagship product is a television channel Canal+ and their satellite equivalents (CanalSat  in France and Digital+ in Spain).  Canal Plus came to the Nordic countries in 1997, acquiring the two FilmNet-channels and renaming them. The Nordic part was sold in October 2003 and the Canal+ brand is since then used with license.

For more information, please contact:
Ferran Marquez
Communications Director
Euroleague Basketball
Palau Sant Jordi
Passeig Olímpic 5-7
08038 Barcelona
Spain
ferran.marquez@euroleague.net
+34 933 278 427