NBA Streaming It’s G-League on Amazon’s Twitch

Twitch NBA BasketballIn my last post, I talked about how streaming of NFL games on Amazon increased in 2017, well Amazon looks to increase footprint in sports with NBA’s G-League on Twitch. If you don’t know, Twitch is a video-streaming platform that is owned by Amazon. Starting this season, the NBA will showcase 6 G-League games per week by streaming them on Twitch. Previously, Twitch has been widely known for streaming video game action but has now expanded into other mediums such as sports. This is just another example of what viewing sports online might look like in the future.

Twitch attracts 15 million average daily viewers globally, and the NBA G-League streams will mimic many features that the active viewers are already engaging with. This is also another reason why the NBA is making a big eSports push. The NBA G-League stream will have overlays that provide stats and the ability to win loyalty points for certain behavior, in addition to ‘co-streaming’ from Twitch personalities and basketball fans. The NBA’s G-League has 26 teams that are affiliated with NBA franchises such as the Milwaukee Bucks, Chicago Bulls and New York Knicks.

These active viewers previously were engaging with these features while they were watching other people play video games. Most people know Twitch as it has been widely used to stream video games, and their streams include such feature as chat rooms to the video game and sports watching experience.

This is the first professional sports league to utilize Twitch and it’s platform’s unique streaming features. The NBA is continually testing new technology to reach a broader more global audience. Besides utilizing Twitch, basketball fans can view G-League games on Facebook too. But the integration with Twitch adds a whole other development.

This is of no surprise, as NBA officials have stated numerous times that live sporting events should be viewed more like video games. The NBA has launched its own eSports league to back that statement, which I have written about here. Plus, it continues to push the envelope to attract viewers and make so they are seeing the game like a video game when the consumer is not at the live event. They are streaming weekly games in virtual reality, and are streaming some of their pre-game shows on Twitter.

Just like with Amazon’s stream of the National Football League’s Thursday Night games, streaming NBA G-League games on their Twitch platform will increase their their live content library. Potentially, this gives Amazon yet another way to expand their e-commerce footprint. As I discussed previously, in both Amazon’s NFL streams and Twitch’s NBA G-League streams, Amazon could target ads and other e-commerce messaging so viewers can purchase jersey’s or other sports memorabilia of the team their are watching during the game. The future of live sports viewing is upon us and not only will it change our viewing habits, it will have an impact on how we purchase products.

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