– Up to six weekly games with fan commentary and cutting-edge interactive stats –
NEW YORK, December 13, 2017 – NBA G League matches will be streamed live on Twitch, the world’s leading social video service and community for gamers with 15 million daily active users, beginning December 15. This will be the first time a major sports league has leveraged multiple technological innovations unique to Twitch.
Click here to view the 2017-18 Twitch Schedule
During the 2017-18 regular season, basketball fans can expect up to six NBA G League games to be streamed live on Twitch each week at twitch.tv/nbagleague. After each live stream, these games will be available on demand.
The partnership expands the distribution of NBA G League games and aims to ambitiously innovate the digital presentation of basketball. In addition to the main stream, this partnership will include co-streaming with select Twitch personalities and basketball fans. Co-streaming allows a creator to share another channel’s video feed, but with their own comments and community, resulting in a more personalized social experience that includes the ability for viewers to chat with commentators during the game. When launching, GoldGlove and more than a dozen other prominent Twitch personalities will participate in the co-streaming initiative.
Additionally, this partnership will introduce an interactive feature for Twitch viewers in the form of a channel overlay that provides easy access to a wide range of stats and the ability to accumulate loyalty points.
To enhance the viewing experience, Twitch is adding interactive features with the NBA G League extension. This is a channel overlay created using Contraction Extensions, a new set of tools for developers to help creators personalize their channel pages with interactive experiences. The NBA G League extension provides the following features for Twitch viewers which will be updated and evolved over time:
- Statistics: Viewers can click on a team name or logo next to the scoreboard to view player, team, game, and season stats. There will also be a ticker displaying league stats related to other league games.
- Loyalty display: Connected viewers will be rewarded with loyalty points for passive and active behaviors and interactions with the stream. Viewers can compete to unlock achievements, climb the season leaderboards, and more to potentially win prizes.
“Our deal with Twitch will be groundbreaking,” said NBA G League President Malcolm Turner. “Leveraging fan feedback, new technology and a passionate community, Twitch is elevating video in a unique and engaging way that resonates with young viewers. We look forward to collaborating with their team to create something really special for basketball fans.
“From day one, the NBA team understood what Twitch is. We are not a traditional sports experience on TV; we are much more,” said Michael Aragon, Senior Vice President of Content, Twitch.” From our broadcasters to our engaged community to our interactive product that brings everyone together, working with their team will bring a unique experience to basketball fans everywhere. We’re thrilled to be working with the NBA G League and can’t wait to see the impact social video has on mainstream sports.
As the research and development arm of the NBA, the NBA G League tests rules, technological innovations and equipment in an effort to elevate the game. This season, the league played with teams of referees from four people during the month of November, while testing rules such as the innovative Coach’s Challenge and a two-minute overtime period. Over the league’s 17-year history, it has experimented with the International Goalkeeper Rule, out-of-bounds fouls, and in-bounds flop penalties, among other rules.
About the NBA G League
The NBA’s official minor league, the NBA G League prepares players, coaches, officials, trainers and front office staff for the NBA while acting as the league’s research and development laboratory. With 26 teams directly affiliated with NBA franchises for the 2017-18 season, the league offers elite professional basketball at an affordable price in a fun, family-friendly atmosphere. An all-time high 44% of all NBA players at the end of the 2016-17 season had NBA G League experience. By fostering the league’s ties to the community, its teams, players and staff promote health and well-being, support local needs and interests, and contribute to the development of education through NBA Cares programs. . NBA G League games are available on the ESPN family of networks and on NBA TV.
About Twitch
Tic is the world’s leading social video service and community for gamers. Every day, millions of community members come together to watch, talk and discuss common interests. Twitch’s video service is the backbone of live and on-demand distribution for all types of content, including the entire video game ecosystem, creative arts, vlogging (IRL), and more. . Twitch also works TwitchCon, an annual convention to celebrate the Twitch community. For more information on Twitch, visit our press center, Twitter feed (#Twitch), and Blog.
