LONDON AND MILAN – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Sky Italia today announced a four-year broadcast and multiplatform partnership expansion that will see Sky Italia continue as the NBA’s exclusive broadcast partner and official website operator in Italy.

As part of the NBA’s most extensive partnership ever in Italy, Sky Italia will broadcast more than 300 live games each season, including a record 48 weekend primetime games as part of the league’s ‘NBA Saturdays’ and ‘NBA Sundays’ European primetime initiative.

The NBA’s 74^th regular season tips off Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019 and concludes Wednesday, April 15, 2020.  NBA games and programming will once again be available on Sky’s 24-hour dedicated NBA channel, Sky Sport NBA (channel 206) – including at least one live game per day, highlights and analysis.

Extensive video highlights, news, stats, scores, in-depth analysis and original digital content will continue to be available on sport.sky.it/nba, the official website of the NBA in Italy, enabling fans to stay connected to the game whenever, wherever they are.

“Sky Italia is one of our longest and most-valued partners in Europe,”  said NBA EMEA Vice President, Global Media Distribution, Elsa Memmi.  “With more access to live primetime games than ever before and extensive highlights available online there has never been a better time to be a NBA fan in Italy.”

“We are very pleased to announce the renewal of our relationship with the NBA for a further four years, and we are more than happy that the NBA has identified Sky as the best partner to enhance its brand once again,” said Executive Vice President Sky Sport, Marzio Perrelli.  “Sky remains the point of reference for the many NBA fans in Italy and will ensure the usual exceptional coverage, with even more matches in primetime and an enhanced editorial quality.  This is just great for NBA fans and for those who are getting into basketball.  Sky is, once again, the home of sport.”

Opening-night rosters for the 2019-20 season are expected to feature three Italian players: Marco Belinelli of the San Antonio Spurs, Danilo Gallinari of the Oklahoma City Thunder, and Nicolò Melli, who is expected to make his NBA debut with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Sky Italia’s coverage will include an average of seven live games each week during the 2019-20 regular season including a record 48 games in primetime as part of the league’s NBA Saturdays’ and ‘NBA Sundays’ Europe-wide weekend primetime initiative.  Additionally, Sky Italia will broadcast live back-to-back games on Christmas Day.  Fans can also look forward to marquee year-round events including NBA All-Star, the NBA Playoffs, the NBA Conference Finals, The Finals and the NBA Draft.

Extensive NBA coverage can also be found across Sky’s social channels across Facebook, Instagram and Twitter (@SkySportNBA), featuring exclusive content, news, in-depth analysis and live broadcasts with Sky’s NBA talent.

Fans in Italy can also visit Europe’s first NBA Store located at Corso Europa in Milan, with all the latest on-court and off-court apparel also available at NBAStore.eu.

Key ‘NBA Saturdays’ and ‘NBA Sundays’ European primetime games (see below for full schedule):

Week 1: The Miami Heat featuring Jimmy Butler take on Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks at 11pm CET on Saturday, Oct. 26.  While the 2019 NBA Finalists the Golden State Warriors face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder at 8:30pm CET on Sunday, Oct. 27.

Week 2: 2019 No. 1 overall pick Zion Williamson and Italian Nicolò Melli make their European primetime debut with the New Orleans Pelicans on Saturday, Nov. 2 as they take on Italian Danilo Gallinari and the Oklahoma City Thunder at 10pm CET.

Week 5: 2018-19 NBA Rookie of the Year Luka Dončić (Slovenia), Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvia) and the Dallas Mavericks visit James Harden, Russell Westbrook and the Houston Rockets on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 9:30pm CET.

Week 9: Marc Gasol (Spain) and the 2019 NBA Champion Toronto Raptors host the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday, Dec. 22 at 9:30pm CET.

Week 20: The new-look LA Clippers featuring Kawhi Leonard and Paul George host their cross-town rivals the Los Angeles Lakers featuring LeBron James and Anthony Davis on Sunday, March 8 at 8:30pm CET.

For more information, fans can visit on Facebook, follow @NBAItalia on Twitter and @NBAEurope on Instagram.  Fans can download the NBA App for news, updates, scores, stats and videos and can download the new ‘e-calendar’ direct to their phones with full broadcast tune-in information here.