NBA and FOX Sports Announce Multi-Year Relationship to Broadcast Jr. NBA World Championship

Coverage of Inaugural Global Youth Basketball Competition for Boys and Girls to Include Live Games and Original Programming Across FOX and FS1 Networks

NEW YORK, NY – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and FOX Sports today announced a multi-year relationship in which FOX and FS1 will televise the Jr. NBA World Championship, a first-of-its kind global youth basketball tournament for elite 13- and 14-year-old boys and girls teams from around the world. The inaugural event will take place at the state-of-the-art ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Fla. from Aug. 7-12.

FOX Sports will air 16 games totaling 20 hours of programming. On Saturday, Aug. 11 and Sunday, Aug. 12, there will be more than 10 hours of programming on FOX that includes the boys and girls U.S. and international championship games as well as the World Championship games between those winners. Select domestic and international pool play and elimination games will air on FS1. All games will be simulcast on the FOX Sports app, which now provides live streaming video of FOX Sports content through iOS and Android devices.

“We jumped at the opportunity to partner with the NBA on this unique event,” said Mark Silverman, President, National Networks at FOX Sports. “The NBA’s stars of tomorrow – the next Dwyane Wade or Candace Parker – might get their first big turns in the spotlight with us, right here at FOX Sports.”

FOX Sports will also highlight the important off-court culture of the tournament in its ancillary coverage. As part of the event, outside of competition, boys and girls from dozens of countries around the world will participate in activities – often alongside current and former NBA and WNBA players – including life skills education, physical and mental wellness programming and NBA Cares community service projects.

“We are thrilled to partner with FOX to provide national coverage of the first-ever Jr. NBA World Championship,” said Kathy Behrens, NBA President, Social Responsibility and Player Programs. “FOX shares our commitment to showcasing the event’s exciting on-court competition as well as the impactful off-court programming which will showcase our core values that will help set a new standard for youth basketball competitions.”

The Jr. NBA World Championship features both boys and girls divisions, each comprised of eight U.S. and eight international teams, separated into U.S. and international brackets that include round-robin and single-elimination competition. The winning boys and girls teams from eight newly-created U.S. regional tournaments (Central, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest, Northeast, Northwest, South, Southeast and West), as well as teams representing eight international regions (Africa & Middle East, Asia Pacific, Canada, China, Europe, India, Mexico and South America), will compete in the Jr. NBA World Championship in August.

The event will align with the NBA and USA Basketball Youth Guidelines aimed at improving the way children, parents and coaches experience the game, with a specific emphasis on promoting player health and wellness and age-appropriate rules and standards. The Youth Guidelines include recommended and maximum participation amounts that will limit youth participating in the Jr. NBA World Championship to one or, at maximum, two games per day over the course of the tournament. Additionally, rules and standards detail age-and stage appropriate equipment and court specifications, game structure, playing tactics, and rules.

More information about the Jr. NBA World Championship can be found at www.jrnba.com/worldchampionship.

About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around four professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the NBA G League and the NBA 2K League, set to launch in May 2018. The NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2017-18 season featured 108 international players from a record 42 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and NBA League Pass. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 1.5 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

About the Jr. NBA
The Jr. NBA presented by Under Armour is the league’s youth basketball participation program that provides a fun environment for kids to learn the fundamentals and values of the game. The Jr. NBA is focused on helping grow and improve the youth basketball experience for players, coaches and parents, and offers a free curriculum covering all levels of the game that includes 48 practice plans and more than 250 instructional videos featuring NBA and WNBA players. The Jr. NBA World Championship, a first-of-its kind global youth basketball tournament for the top 14U boys and girls teams from around the world, will take place in August 2018.

In partnership with USA Basketball, the NBA developed two sets of youth basketball guidelines which promote player health and wellness and age-appropriate rules and standards. Through a network of affiliated youth basketball organizations and programs such as the Jr. NBA Skills Challenge presented by Verizon and 3v3 Leagues presented by Shock Doctor, the Jr. NBA program has reached more than five million youth ages 6-14 in the U.S. and Canada since launching its expanded efforts in October 2015. The Jr. NBA partnership network is comprised of youth basketball programs of all NBA, WNBA and NBA G League teams as well as elementary and middle schools, military bases and longstanding community partners. For more information and to register for the Jr. NBA, visit www.JrNBA.com or download the Jr. NBA app.

About FOX Sports
FOX Sports is the umbrella entity representing 21st Century FOX’s wide array of multi-platform US-based sports assets. Built with brands capable of reaching more than 100 million viewers in a single weekend, FOX Sports includes ownership and interests in linear television networks, digital and mobile programming, broadband platforms, multiple web sites, joint-venture businesses and several licensing partnerships. FOX Sports includes the sports television arm of the FOX Broadcasting Company; FS1, FS2; FOX Sports Regional Networks, their affiliated regional web sites and national programming; FOX Soccer Plus; FOX Deportes and FOX College Sports. In addition, FOX Sports also encompasses FOX Sports Digital, which includes FOXSports.com and FOX Sports GO. Also included in the Group are FOX’s interests in joint-venture businesses Big Ten Network and BTN 2Go, as well as a licensing agreement that established the FOX Sports Radio Network.