The National Basketball Association (NBA) and YouTube have announced the launch of NBA’s first YouTube channel that would target fans in sub-Saharan Africa.
This dedicated channel would feature two live games per week for the rest of the 2018-19 season. This matches would includes major events like the Playoffs, Conference Finals and The Finals. Airing of the matches would also help the league improve its coverage across the 46 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
This partnership is with immediate effect as the first two live games will be broadcasted on the new NBA Africa YouTube channel on Sunday, March 24. The first two matches to be aired will be the L.A. Clippers visiting the New York Knicks at 5pm followed by Charlotte Hornets hosting the Boston Celtics at 11 pm (GMT +1).
Asides airing live matches, NBA is also looking to use the channel to showcase the league’s long history of growing basketball at all levels across the continent. It also intends to use the games as a platforms to inspire and empower African youths while celebrating the impact of African players in the NBA.
The African YouTube channel will feature original and archived programming which will include a customized weekly magazine show and documentaries featuring current and former African players and legends.
With these proposed documentaries, NBA hopes to endear itself into the hearts of their African fans as many would be able to catch highlights of their favourite players, retired or still active.
“The NBA Africa YouTube channel is yet another important milestone for the NBA in Africa and will allow more fans to access our games, live and on demand, across the continent. As we enter the home stretch of the NBA season and teams fight for playoff positioning, we look forward to bringing the excitement of the NBA to more fans in sub-Saharan Africa while celebrating the NBA’s rich history and bright future in Africa.”
Amadou Gallo Fall, NBA Vice President and Managing Director for Africa.
Although football is by far the most popular sport in Africa, basketball also has a huge fanbase across Africa. Being the most popular basketball league in the world, with 13 Africans playing in it, NBA is finding its way into Africa. This is a big boost for the organisation on the continent as it has amassed huge following since it opened its first African office in 2010.
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