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Par Guillaume Kagni | Journaliste sportif
For the first time in over 30 years, a club from the French league had the opportunity to win the EuroLeague. No one could have seen it, as no free TV channel bought the rights to the match. Stephen Brun was up in arms about it.
On Sunday, for the first time since CSP Limoges 32 years ago, a French elite club took part in the EuroLeague final. After a fine victory over Evan Fournier’s Olympiakos, AS Monaco were up against Fenerbahçe to win the most prestigious championship behind the NBA. Unfortunately, the outcome left a bitter taste in the mouth.
Despite putting up a good fight, Vassilis Spanoulis’s men lost out to the experienced Turks. The result might have been different had the Monegasques been able to count on popular support. The final was played in Abu Dhabi, which limited the presence of fans, and was not broadcast free-to-air in France. An anonymity that weighs heavily on Stephen Brun.
Stephen Brun on the state of basketball in France
I have it on good authority that no DTT channel has tried to acquire the rights to the EuroLeague final. There hasn’t been a phone call. I’ve been aware of the audiovisual anonymity of my sport for several years now. The channels aren’t interested in it because it doesn’t attract ratings. European basketball is for specialists and connoisseurs. The NBA is aimed at a wider audience, who aren’t specialists. There’s the Victor Wembanyama, LeBron James, Stephen Curry hype. It makes you dream.
For several years now, French and European basketball has been scattered all over the place, and nobody is interested anymore. Putting Monaco on a TNT channel for the final would have cost more money than it would have brought in. I’m resigned to it. European basketball is wonderful, but it’s only of interest to sports purists. I’m just as unhappy as everyone else. It’s the second most popular team sport in France behind soccer.
32 years after Limoges, you’ve got a great story to tell. Back then, it was on free TV. There wasn’t a channel that didn’t think this could be a great moment and a chance to show the sport to a wider audience. On top of that, you’ve got two international players in Elie Okobo and Matthew Strazel, you’ve got superstar Mike James, the all-time leading scorer who’s yet to win the title… Everyone’s waxing lyrical about it.
In Stephen Brun’s view, the French media didn’t live up to the hype, with not a single free-to-air channel showing any interest in the EuroLeague final. Yet this was an opportunity to showcase the quality of the European game and potentially win over new fans. For a sport with so many licensees, media coverage is not enough.
