After televising the circuit's 2010 playoffs, WAPA America, the U.S. cable arm of the leading broadcaster in Puerto Rico, WAPA Television, has secured exclusive rights to air the 2011 Puerto Rico Basketball League season.
Coverage, which extends throughout the playoffs, tips off March 31 with a finals rematch between the defending champion Los Capitanes de Arecibo (The Arecibo Captains), and the 2010 runner-up Los Vaqueros de Bayamon (The Bayamon Cowboys).
Deal terms were not disclosed.
More than 80-years-old, Puerto Rico's basketball league (BSN, for its Spanish acronym) is well-regarded and its alumni include such current National Basketball Association as Jose Juan Barea (Dallas Mavericks), Carlos Arroyo (Miami Heat) and Renaldo Balkman (New York Knicks).
Ten teams will compete for the 2011 BSN titles with each squad playing 30 games. WAPA America will release the final broadcast schedule in the coming weeks.
Last year, WAPA America, which reaches some 3.5 million U.S. homes via deals with DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse, covered BSN's playoff action during the quarterfinals, semifinals and championship rounds.
"Puerto has a rich basketball tradition and the sport is extremely popular among Puerto Ricans and many other Hispanic audiences," said Jose Ramos, president of WAPA Television, in announcing the deal. "This is a unique and excellent product for our distribution partners and we are pleased to offer it exclusively to our audience."
