Filed at 10:29 a.m. EST on Mar. 23, 2009
Cartoon Network is partnering with the National Basketball Association to develop long and short form content across the network's platforms.
The first project to come from the partnership will be the short form series My Dad's a Pro, which will debut around the same time as the start of the 2009/2010 NBA season later this Fall. My Dad's a Pro will explore the lives of the children of NBA players.
The deal with Cartoon Network is in some ways an extension of the NBA's longstanding partnership with Turner Broadcasting. Turner is in its 25th year as a broadcast partner for NBA games, which currently air on TNT. Turner also manages the NBA's digital portfolio, including NBA TV and NBA.com.
"This collaboration is a further extension of the strong business relationship and long-term partnership we have developed with the NBA," said David Levy, president of Turner Sports and Turner Broadcasting Sales, Inc., announcing the partnership. "The expansion of our partnership with the league speaks to the strength of our company. Whether it's sports, kids' entertainment or news programming, Turner delivers strong content on a multitude of platforms."
This Fall, Cartoon will also launch a dedicated basketball section of its website, featuring exclusive multimedia content.
Basketball has gotten some additional attention in high places of late. Fan-in-Chief Barack Obama played in high school and continues to play to this day, telling Jimmy Kimmel during the campaign that he was going to replace the White House bowling alley with a basketball court.
