BBL Germany
The Basketball Bundesliga, also known as the easyCredit BBL, is the highest level of professional club basketball in Germany. The league is composed of 18 teams and is divided into two distinct stages: the league stage and the playoff stage. The BBL season is played during the winter months and runs from October to March. To follow the games in real-time, you can watch them on a live stream at nba.com or on a dedicated app.
In 1997, the German Basketball Federation took charge of the Bundesliga and the second-tier division. The third-tier league is run by the AG 2. Bundesliga. The first division is administered by the BBL. In 2005, the German Basketball Federation transferred the marketing rights to the BBL for a period of 10 years in exchange for a DM 600,000 fee per year. But the Bundesliga’s deal with Sky proved to be a failure. While the pay-TV model worked in the USA, the market in Germany was not ready for it. Many basketball fans were unwilling to pay twenty to thirty euros a month to watch games on TV. That’s why the league decided to air games via internet streams starting in 2007.
The German basketball league has been without a major sponsor for a long time, and there was no free-TV deal. In November, the League signed a six-year deal with domestic appliance manufacturer Beko. The new title is BEKO BBL. Previously, the league went by other names, including Veltins and Beko. In 2005, Deutsche Bahn was the only official partner, but this did not last long.