Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten Inc. announced Tuesday a multiyear exclusive media partnership with the National Basketball Association.
The deal allows Rakuten members to access comprehensive coverage of all NBA games, including preseason and regular season games, playoffs and the Finals through the "NBA League Pass" service, making Rakuten the league's sole distribution partner in Japan.
According to the NBA's website, Japanese subscribers using NBA League Pass can already view these games, with the exception of preseason games.
"We will bring additional excitement to the world's top basketball league," Rakuten Chairman and CEO Hiroshi Mikitani claimed in a press conference with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver in Tokyo.
Financial terms and length of the agreement were not disclosed, although the deal makes messaging application Rakuten Viber an official platform for the NBA and its teams.
Rakuten members in Japan will have access to games through NBA.com, the NBA app and Rakuten TV, and members living outside of Japan will also have a chance to buy select NBA merchandise on Rakuten's e-commerce channels.
Last month, Rakuten signed an advertising patch deal with the Golden State Warriors after the NBA approved the sale of jersey sponsorships beginning with the 2017-2018 season, and will pay the reigning champions $20 million per season over the next three seasons.
Rakuten also became FC Barcelona's main global partner on July 1 through a four-year agreement worth 220 million euro ($250 million) which is one of the biggest sponsorships in soccer.
