ESPN First to Broadcast Live WNBA Game in Europe

ESPN and National Basketball Association (NBA) TV have reached an agreement which will see a transatlantic television audience witness the first Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) game to be played in Europe.

Both ESPN and NBA TV revealed that they will present the WNBA Atlanta Dream against The Standard Life Great Britain Women’s basketball team on May 29. 

The game, held at the Manchester Evening News Arena (MEN) as part of WNBA Live – Manchester 2011, will be live on ESPN in the UK, while NBA TV will televise the game live throughout America.
 


The game will be presented to UK viewers on ESPN and also to more than 55 million homes in the United States through NBA TV, the National Basketball Association’s 24-hour television network.

The Standard Life GB Women, who will be making their first Olympic appearance in 2012 when London hosts the Summer Games, enjoyed a successful summer in 2011 when they qualified for EuroBasket 2011 for the first time. 

WNBA Live – Manchester 2011 is part of the multiyear partnership between the Manchester City Council, the NBA, WNBA, and USA Basketball that will give basketball fans in Manchester the opportunity to attend live games in the city. 

Along with the WNBA game and the USA Basketball games scheduled for July 2012, the partnership will also bring the first-ever NBA preseason game to Manchester in the autumn of 2013, marking the first time an NBA team has played away from America and outside of London in the UK.