The NBL has entered into a two-year deal with Twitch to stream games live worldwide.
All NBL games will be broadcast on the NBL Twitch Channel, with a co-broadcast option, allowing users to provide their own comments on their own Twitch channels. Other features, including statistics and surveys, will also be rolled out.
According to the NBL release, the recent Twitch stream featuring Next Star’s Illawarra Hawks LaMelo Ball vs. the Perth Wildcats game at the preseason NBL Blitz in Tasmania had 184,000 unique viewers. This new partnership opens up access for foreign NBL fans to watch games, especially those who keep an eye out for Next Stars like Ball, RJ Hampton, Terry Armstrong and Didi Louzada.
We previously announced that NBL games would be available through FloHoops for US and Canadian fans, and the league subsequently entered into a partnership with Facebook which enabled the streaming of selected games.
Nationally, the NBL had started promoting its NBL TV product with a one month free trial ($ 5 per month after), alongside SBS on Demand free streams. It is not known if there are any geo-restrictions on NBL’s Twitch streaming – there could be changes from Twitch to its policy when EU Article 17 Copyright Directive going live – but that portends a potential change to NBL TV.
“Our partnership with Twitch is truly revolutionary for Australian sport and strengthens the status of the NBL as a global entertainment product,” said Jeremy Loeliger, NBL Commissioner. allowing our games to be co-broadcast by members of the Twitch community, it also offers these games in a new way that is more appealing to this audience.People who have never heard of the NBL before are will log in to see their favorite streamers showcase our content. It’s a very exciting development.
Loeliger also touched on the live engagement aspect of Twitch. Outside of the live stats and chat, competitions and merchandise purchases can all be done without leaving the game – something that could be used to increase sales of NBL merchandise.
“There is huge global interest in the NBL. We are already streaming games worldwide in the United States, Europe and Asia with a potential reach of 130 million people. Twitch will further extend that reach during the most exciting time on record for Australian basketball, with the NBL now rated as the second best basketball entertainment product in the world. “
“Expanding our basketball content to include the next full season of one of the best professional leagues in the world is an obviously exciting way to further engage with what is proving to be a very strong and growing fandom on our side. service, ”said Head of Sports Verticals. at Twitch, Eric Brunner said, “It’s great to work with the NBL as the first sports organization in Australia to truly understand the power of building a global community on Twitch. “
