JEDDAH — A ground-breaking relationship that has boosted the worldwide visibility of elite European basketball like never before will grow even bigger following the announcement in Istanbul that Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball will continue their unique partnership and title-sponsorship agreement for seven more seasons through 2020. The new agreement, one of the biggest sponsorship deals in basketball history, means that Europe's premier competition will be known as the Turkish Airlines Euroleague for an entire decade from the start of the original partnership in 2010. During their first three years together, Euroleague Basketball and Turkish Airlines went beyond title sponsorship to build a collaboration with innovations ranging from award-winning social media promotions to mass-market documentary film productions and live in-flight game broadcasts. A centerpiece of their fast-growing relationship was added in 2012 as Turkish Airlines became Founding Partner of Euroleague Basketball's corporate social responsibility program, One Team, which has subsequently won praise across the sporting and charity industries for using sports to empower disadvantaged communities in cities from London to Beijing and everywhere in between. “First, let me thank Turkish Airlines for proving to be the exact type of forward-thinking, fully-engaged partner needed to help our sport improve off the court as much as our basketball professionals have done on the court this century,” Jordi Bertomeu, the President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said in Istanbul. “Our new agreement will assure that not only the relationship between Euroleague Basketball and Turkish Airlines will continue to get bigger and better, but that together we can provide our hard-working clubs and devoted fans with the elite competition they deserve.” “Strengthening the corporate cooperation initiated in 2010 with Euroleague Basketball, Europe's top-level basketball event and one of the most popular basketball organizations in the world, is a strategic step in enhancing the prestige and brand awareness of Turkish Airlines on a global scale,” said Turkish Airlines' Board Chairman Hamdi Topçu in his speech. Two of its feature components illustrate how the Euroleague Basketball Turkish Airlines partnership has already brought the continent's basketball elite to new audiences in innovative ways. Eye of the Fan, a multi-platform social media initiative by Turkish Airlines, won awards in the marketing industry for its revolutionary creative approach to giving the at-home Turkish Airlines Euroleague audience a round-the-clock experience behind the scenes at the Final Four. The four-part film documentary Basketball Capitals, a branded-content project co-produced by Turkish Airlines and global sports media leader ESPN, reached an audience of more than 160 million households in Europe, the Middle East and Asia and starred fans in Berlin, Madrid, Athens and Istanbul telling the story of basketball passion in their cities. — SG
