Starting on December 15, NBA Gatorade League (G League) games will be live streamed on Twitch, a social video service and community for gamers. This will represent the first time a major sports league has tapped into several technological innovations unique to Twitch.
During the 2017-18 regular season, basketball fans can expect up to six NBA G League games to stream live on Twitch each week at twitch.tv/nbagleague. After each live broadcast, these games will be available on demand.
In addition to the main broadcast, this partnership will feature 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 commentary and community, resulting in a more personalized, social experience that includes the ability for viewers to chat with commentators during the game. At launch, GoldGlove and more than a dozen other top personalities on Twitch will take part in the co-streaming initiative.
Additionally, this partnership will introduce interactive functionality for Twitch viewers in the form of a channel overlay that provides easy access to a wide range of stats and the ability to accrue 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 Twitch Extensions, which are a new set of tools that allow developers to help creators customize their channel pages with interactive experiences. The NBA G League Extension provides the following features for Twitch viewers which will update and evolve over time:
- Stats: Viewers can click on a team’s name or logo next to the scoreboard to view player, team, game, and season stats. There will also be a ticker featuring league stats related to other games from around the league.
- Loyalty Display: Logged in viewers will be rewarded with loyalty points for passive and active behaviors and interactions with the stream. Viewers can compete to unlock achievements, climb season long leaderboards, and more to eventually earn prizes.
“Our deal with Twitch will be groundbreaking,” said NBA G League President Malcolm Turner. “By leveraging fan commentary, new technology and a passionate community, Twitch elevates video in a unique, engaging way that resonates with young viewers. We look forward to collaborating with their team to create something truly special for basketball fans.”
“From day one, the NBA team got what Twitch is all about. We aren’t 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, collaborating with their team is going to bring a unique experience to basketball fans worldwide. We are thrilled to be working with the NBA G League and look forward to seeing the impact of social video on mainstream sports.”
