FIBA LOOKS TO INTERACTIVE FUTURE WITH TWITCH CONTENT DEAL

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has agreed a multi-year content deal with streaming platform Twitch. 

Under the agreement, Twitch will stream around 600 hours of live basketball games from the federation annually, and also provide Twitch users with official FIBA footage to use in their own content. 

Specific financial terms have not been disclosed, but speaking to Reuters, FIBA director general of media and marketing services, Frank Leenders, did confirm that some of the funds from the deal will be investing in developing interactive elements during broadcasts.

Leenders also said FIBA will be looking to make deals with co-streamers in major makretings like the United States, France, Italy, Spain, and Australia, to help raise the profile of the federation.

Commenting on the news FIBA Secretary General, Andreas Zagklis, said:

“FIBA is delighted to announce this unique collaboration with Twitch, a live streaming service that is used by millions of people globally each day. 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.”

While SVP EMEA, Twitch, Damian Burns, added:

“Twitch is a community of superfans where the most passionate come together to participate in and shape their own entertainment – live. FIBA is an innovation-driven organization and is passionate about bringing fans together in new interactive ways around livestreaming. 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.”

AYO.NEWS says:

This is an interesting shift for FIBA, moving into the realms of interactive streamed content, as opposed to passive content, like that broadcast on television or platforms like YouTube. Making official footage available for Twitch users to incorporate into their own content is also a very progressive idea, and one that will likely go down well with fans. Given current trends, we’re sure other major sporting organisations will follow suit this year.