DeMarcus Cousis (L) of USA in action during the Basketball match between USA and France of the 2016 ... [+]
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has signed a major deal with Twitch, becoming the first major governing body to enter into a “strategic collaboration” with the Amazon-owned interactive streaming service.
Twitch rose to prominence as a platform for video games and eSports content, but its popularity has seen many brands establish a presence, while athletes, clubs and sports organizations have also found audiences on the site.
Amazon has been keen to diversify Twitch’s offering in a bid to reach more viewers and sports has been a key component of this strategy. It has launched a dedicated ‘/twitchsports’ vertical and shown live Premier League and NFL games in selected countries.
FIBA Twitch
FIBA has been attracted by Twitch’s large, youthful user base and hopes to expand the reach of basketball and its competitions. The Swiss-based organization governs the rules of the sport and operates world and continental championships. This remit includes the basketball competitions at the Olympic Games.
As part of this “multi-year agreement” with Twitch, FIBA will stream more than 600 hours of live basketball on the platform, including all 3x3 international competitions, the women’s EuroLeague, and youth tournaments.
3x3 basketball, which involves teams of three players and half a standard-sized court, is viewed as a key tool to promote the sport around the world, and will debut at the postponed Tokyo 2020 Olympics later this year.
“This innovative agreement will further strengthen our strategic objective to enlarge the FIBA family by offering year-round basketball action to more fans, on an interactive service,” declared FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis.
Premium events, such as the World Cup and Eurobasket, will remain with FIBA’s existing broadcast partners but FIBA will show match replays and highlights on Twitch. This is important because it will boost the most intriguing element of the partnership – user-generated content. FIBA will make all of its assets available to Twitch users in the hope they will create new formats and build audiences that aid the organization’s growth efforts.
FIBA hopes this interactive and innovative approach will position it as a leader in sports technology, giving it additional legitimacy among mobile-first demographics. Basketball in general, especially the NBA, has been one of the most progressive sports in that respect.
In the recent Sports Technology Annual Review, the NBA was named as the fourth most innovative sports technology organization, while FIBA was 22nd.
"Twitch is a community of superfans where the most passionate come together to participate in and shape their own entertainment - live," said Damian Burns, SVP EMEA, Twitch. "FIBA is an innovation-driven organization and is passionate about bringing fans together in new interactive ways around live streaming. This makes FIBA the perfect fit for Twitch. We are excited to see FIBA reach new and existing audiences across the globe with truly innovative content that makes the most of the tools and resources Twitch has to offer."
