MIAMI -- WAPA America, the U.S. cable network arm of Puerto Rico’s WAPA-TV, has renewed exclusive rights to air the 2013 season of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional, the Puerto Rican basketball league, which will include regular season games and the playoffs.
Ten teams will make up the 2013 BSN tournament, with each team playing 36 games during the regular season. WAPA America will air four games per week--Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. ET, and Sundays at 7 p.m. ET. All games will air live. The season kicks off on Sunday, March 31, at 7 p.m. ET with game between defending champions, Los Indios de Mayaguez and Los Piratas de Quebradillas.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of organized basketball in Puerto Rico, after the YMCA organized the first game using the sport’s official rules in 1913. Since 1929, the BSN has been the sport’s principal league in Puerto Rico and is well-recognized around the world. The league has been the launching point for a number of current and former NBA players, including Jose Juan Barea, Carlos Arroyo and Peter John Ramos.
The 2013 BSN tournament will feature some former NBA players, among them Josh Harrellson, Brian Cook, Michael Sweetney, Andrew Goudelock, Al Thornton, Ike Diogu, and Mike Harris.
“Basketball does really well with Hispanic audiences, and we are happy to offer the 2013 Puerto Rico National Basketball League season exclusively to our audience and distribution partners,” said Jose E. Ramos, president of WAPA Television. “This is a unique opportunity for advertisers to connect with the strong base of US Hispanic basketball fans.”
WAPA America is viewed in more than 5 million homes throughout the United States and distributed on all major cable, satellite and telco providers, including DirecTV, Dish Networks, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications, Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Verizon FiOS, and AT&T.
