U-NEXT Becomes East Asia Super League Streaming Partner in Japan

East Asia Super League (EASL) has agreed an exclusive live media rights deal in Japan with U-NEXT covering the 2023-24 season.

U-NEXT, one of Japan’s leading OTT platforms, will stream live coverage of all 12 group stage games of B.LEAGUE teams Chiba Jets and Ryukyu Golden Kings, and all four games from the Final Four. The other 12 games from the 2023-24 season will be available to watch on delay. U-NEXT will provide Japanese language commentary for the 12 live games featuring the B.LEAGUE teams.

Fans in Japan can catch all the EASL action on U-NEXT from the comfort of their homes, and on-the-go on their mobile devices. U-NEXT is accessible via internet-connected television sets, smartphones and tablets, web browsers and games consoles.

Tenshin Tsutsumi, President and Representative Director, of U-NEXT, said, “We are very pleased to announce the exclusive distribution in Japan of the new East Asia Super League (EASL). The recent FIBA Basketball World Cup attracted a great deal of attention, with the Japanese men’s national team qualifying for the Olympics on the court for the first time in 48 years.

“U-NEXT’s EASL coverage will allow Japanese fans to enjoy live coverage of all the games of the Japanese teams, both home and away. We hope they will enjoy watching fierce battles featuring Japanese teams and players on the international stage.

“U-NEXT has been delivering world-class sports to the people of Japan, including European soccer, golf, martial arts, and baseball. Now we are adding basketball to our lineup.”

EASL Chief Executive Officer Matt Beyer said, “We are very pleased to partner with U-NEXT to bring the 2023-24 Season of EASL to Japanese fans. EASL will stage the best club basketball tournament in Asia, and we look forward to U-NEXT bringing live coverage of the most exciting games to our fans in Japan.”

The EASL 2023-24 season will involve 28 games, taking place between October 11 this year and March 10, 2024. It will begin with the group stage, in which each of the eight competing teams will play their group opponents once at home and once away. The championship will be decided at the four-game, four-team Final Four playoff competition on March 8-10, 2024. The winning team will secure a $1 million prize.

Chiba Jets will compete in Group A, against Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters, the 2022-23 Korean Basketball League champions; TNT Tropang Giga, the 2022-23 Philippine Basketball Association Governors’ Cup champions; and Taipei Fubon Braves, the 2022-23 P. LEAGUE+ champions.

Ryukyu Golden Kings will compete in Group B, against Seoul SK Knights, the 2022-23 KBL runners-up; Meralco Bolts, the 2022-23 PBA Governors’ Cup semi-finalists; and New Taipei Kings, the 2022-23 P. LEAGUE+ runners up.