The Canadian-arm of production and rights agency Mediapro has announced that it will produce every game of the 2020 Canadian Elite Basketball League Summer Series tournament.
Of those 26 games, seven will be broadcast live by Canadian public broadcaster CBC’s linear channel. All games will also be available live and on-demand via CBC GEM, the broadcaster’s OTT platform.
Mediapro Canada will exploit its AutomaticTV artificial intelligence production system to produce high-definition coverage of the 19 CBC GEM games. It will mark the first time Mediapro has used this technology in Canada, having previously exploited it throughout European broadcasts.
Mediapro will also distribute the international media rights to the CEBL Summer Series.
Oscar López, CEO of Mediapro Canada, said: “We are delighted to partner with the CEBL as they embark on their second season of play. Mediapro’s basketball pedigree is extensive – we produce live coverage of the FIBA World Cup, the Euroleague, Spain’s ACB Liga and the SINA 3×3 Elite League among others – and we are excited to introduce our innovative AutomaticTV system to the Canadian market.”
CBC signed a deal to broadcast the CEBL through to 2022 after agreeing a three-year extension in November 2019.
The Summer Series will take place between July 25 and August 9 at the Meridian Centre, Ontario. The season has been reduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic’s effect on the Canadian sporting calendar. It will be the first live sport to return to Canada since the pandemic’s outbreak in the country.
An ordinary CEBL season comprises 70 regular-season games with a further five play-off games.
