The National Basketball Association (NBA), Turner Sports and Twitter have announced a live streaming deal that will provide fans with a groundbreaking new way of viewing fixtures through social media.
The deal, which is set to be rolled out across 20 NBA games that are shown on TNT Games this season, will give fans the chance to cast their vote on which player they would like to see featured during the live streams of select regular-season and playoff games.
The schedule of regular-season and playoff live streams, which will include 2019 NBA All-Star game, will be announced at a later date, along with exclusive commentators who will provide analysis for the new second screen offering.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver celebrated the new partnership: “The NBA Twitter community is among the most vibrant in sports and entertainment.
“While watching NBA games on TNT, our fans on Twitter can now enjoy a unique second screen experience that will further enhance the way fans engage with each other and the game.”
Fans will now be able to watch the game through single player-focused cameras during the second half of each game. Alongside this, NBA – through its NBA Digital partnership with Turner – will continue providing its current offering of on-demand content. Content will include in-game and post-game highlights, match warm ups and exclusive behind the scenes footage.
“Turner and the NBA have always taken a leadership position in providing fans with engaging experiences and this partnership with Twitter is the latest example,” said David Levy, President of Turner. “This complementary live stream on Twitter – from the distinct vantage point of the fan-voted, most coveted player on a given night – will provide an additive experience for fans to go along with the fully-produced coverage on TNT.”
The live streams will be debuted during February 17 showing of the 2019 All-Star Game, with an ISO-CAM view of the fan-voted player.
Jack Dorsey, CEO of Twitter added: “#NBATwitter is one of the most exciting and entertaining global conversations happening on Twitter today.
“We’re thrilled to partner with the NBA and TNT to bring live video directly into the app to make it even better.”
