NBAT2 Debuts 'Foreign Exchange' With Booking.com as Sole Sponsor

NBAT2, the joint venture between the NBA and Take-Two Interactive, premiered "Foreign Exchange" on November 5 — a six-episode series sponsored solely by Booking.com that follows Phoenix Suns center Khaman Maluach and filmmaker Aria Inthavong through five U.S. cities.

The show's rollout is platform-split by design. Long-form episodes run on NBAT2's YouTube channel, while short-form clips go to Instagram and TikTok. Maluach will also post content on his own channels, and custom branded vignettes will be distributed across both NBAT2 and Booking.com properties.

Maluach carries a real hook: he's the highest-drafted player ever from the Basketball Africa League, selected 10th overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. He and Inthavong travel through Los Angeles, San Diego, Austin, San Antonio and Phoenix, covering food, culture and local experiences. NBAT2 says the series uses basketball as a lens on international players' transitions to the U.S., with each season focused on a different player.

How the money and the creative control split

Brian Szejka, CRO of NBA Take-Two Media, confirmed Booking.com is the sole presenting sponsor, in a deal structured as a sponsorship of an editorial series plus custom branded vignettes featuring the show's talent. "Booking.com partnered with NBAT2 for our authority, access to NBA athletes, and unique approach to cultural storytelling through the lens of basketball," he told Net Influencer.

Here's the detail that matters for anyone structuring similar deals: creative control differs by format. NBAT2's editorial team developed several concepts, then picked one with Booking.com based on brand fit and channel tone. "NBAT2's editorial voice leads the way throughout this series, with Booking.com's travel platform supporting our cast and crew along the way," Szejka said. But the sponsor's creative and brand teams had greater input and approval over the vignettes, which Szejka said exist to more directly showcase Booking.com's platform, services and traveler value.

The series builds on NOMAD, NBAT2's existing global travel format. "Building credibility around domestic travel is a priority objective for Booking.com, along with extending its NBA affiliation beyond the court," Szejka noted.

What does this change for marketers and creators?

It's a working template for mixing editorial control with sponsor-approved vignettes under one deal — and a signal that league-affiliated media ventures can sell both in a single package. Booking.com became the Official Online Travel Partner of the NBA and WNBA in May 2025, a multiyear deal starting with the 2025 WNBA season and 2025-26 NBA season, with integration across the leagues' social, digital and broadcast platforms. "Foreign Exchange" extends that relationship into owned content.

Whether it lasts is a different question. Szejka framed a multi-season continuation as an aspiration, not a commitment: "Our goal is to develop partnerships that extend beyond a single season, creating opportunities to tell new stories each NBA season, expand into additional media formats, and build deeper connections through live events."

That matters because NBAT2, which launched publicly in mid-2025, depends heavily on exactly this kind of revenue. CEO Andrew Perlmutter said in August that sponsorship is the company's primary revenue driver, with AT&T, CeraVe and SoFi among brand partners, and that NBAT2 is pushing recent programming in front of brand marketers. He also argued brands need partners they trust enough to allow creative risk — and those willing to take it "are going to be so far ahead of their competitors three years from now."

That's a pitch, not a result. No viewership numbers, no deal value and no performance data accompanied the launch, so the format's commercial case rests on what the first six episodes actually deliver.