Maccabi Haifa games to air Weekly in US
Israeli professional basketball team kicks off its 2009-10 season against defending champs, perennial powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv, this Thursday on Jewish Life Television
The Maccabi Haifa Israeli professional basketball team kicks off its 2009-10 season against defending champs and perennial powerhouse Maccabi Tel Aviv this Thursday at 8 pm Eastern Time on Jewish Life Television (JLTV).
The opening game begins a 22-game broadcast season with play-by-play action in English airing on the popular JLTV network, which reaches over 25 million households.
The weekly broadcasts will be the first time that any Israeli basketball team will have its games broadcast in English in the United States on conventional television. This historic event will launch the official season which begins the end of October and runs through April 25, 2010.
The Israeli basketball league has been praised by sports critics and enthusiasts as highly competitive and ranked among the top five leagues in the world.
Viewers will be able to identify with new sports heroes like Maccabi Haifa superstars Davon Jefferson (from USC), Ido Kozikaro, Moshe Mizrahi, Dror Hagag, Jeremy Tyler (from San Diego), and Jason Rich (FSU).
“JLTV is proud to bring professional Israeli basketball competition to its regular program line-up,” said JLTV President and CEO Phil Blazer.
“Our goal is for Maccabi Haifa and its players to become Israel’s basketball team for America,” said Maccabi Haifa owner and American businessman Jeffrey Rosen.
All Maccabi Haifa games will be broadcast each Thursday night at 8:00 pm ET on JLTV.
Prior to each game broadcast, JLTV will air at 7:30 PM ET, Maccabi Haifa’s new magazine show called "Inside Israeli Basketball". The show provides an in-depth look at what life is like in Israel for Maccabi Haifa’s American players and their Israeli counterparts.
