After early morning slot, NBA aficionados get evening primetime too

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has announced the first-ever broadcast of live NBA games in India during evening primetime. Till now, NBA regular games were telecast live around 6am. From March 11 to April 8, the NBA will schedule a weekly game for live evening primetime broadcast in India every Sunday at 10pm India standard time (IST) on Sony Six/ HD, Sony Ten 3/ HD, with English and Hindi commentary, respectively. This builds on the league’s NBA Sundays campaign, a weekly live primetime game on Sunday evenings in Europe and Africa.

This marks the fourth season of NBA Sundays, a weekly primetime game on Sunday evenings in Europe and Africa. This season, more than 25 regular seasons and playoff games will be available to fans in Europe and Africa on Sundays during primetime.

The five games airing in India will feature some of the league’s biggest stars, including the Cleveland Cavaliers’ LeBron James, the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Joel Embiid. As part of the live broadcasts, the NBA and Sony Six will host a series of pregame activities, fan events and viewing parties across Mumbai and Delhi. Additionally, NBA Around the Hoop, a localised NBA wraparound studio show hosted by a panel of Indian basketball experts, will air around all five live games.

“We are excited to bring primetime games to India for the first time to help meet the growing demand fans in India have for live NBA content,” said NBA India, Managing Director, Yannick Colaco. “The NBA Sundays campaign is part of our continued commitment to customise exciting NBA content for local audiences, and fans in India will have access to a tremendous schedule of live games during primetime featuring some of the league’s top players.”

Rajesh Kaul

“Providing primetime coverage of NBA games on Sony Pictures Sports Networks gives every basketball fan easy access to all the NBA action,” said Rajesh Kaul, President, Sports and Distribution Business, Sony Pictures Networks India. “Our collaborative efforts with the NBA continue to help us engage with existing fans and develop new fans. We will strive to grow the NBA’s presence in India and expand its reach in the coming years.”

The NBA’s partnership with Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN) began in the 2012-13 season and includes more than 500 English and Hindi games each season. This season the NBA and SPN began broadcasting a package of nearly 100 live NBA games with Hindi commentary every weekend on Sony Ten 3/ HD.

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