Perform has agreed a partnership with the Basketball Australia governing body that will allow the digital media company to provide live coverage of all games from the National Basketball League, the top division of basketball in the country, across multiple digital platforms.
The length of the “multi-year” agreement has not been disclosed, but the deal includes the 2012-13 season, which starts in October.
Perform will simulcast games that are broadcast on commercial broadcaster Network Ten in Australia and will also show every other NBL game live to NBL.tv subscribers via mobile, tablet, PC and IPTV platforms.
Games and highlights will also be available on demand, with Perform responsible for producing five-camera coverage of games not shown by Ten.
The NBL said that Perform would also produce and show Australia national women’s and men’s team home games via new media platforms, subject to television broadcast arrangements.
Ten originally acquired exclusive live streaming rights for NBL games as part of a five-year rights deal, from 2011-12 to 2015-16, but the NBL reclaimed those rights by renegotiating the contract in April.
Basketball Australia chief executive Kristina Keneally said the deal with Perform would complement the agreement with Ten, which will show one game live every Sunday afternoon on its main channel and one game per round on its digital channel, One, during the 2012-13 season.
“This is a landmark deal in Australian sport – the very first of its kind in our country,” Keneally said. “This is the first time in NBL history that every game will be broadcast and available live. The increased visibility the NBL will receive from Network Ten’s live game coverage coupled with Perform’s digital, mobile and online broadcasting will be a boon for our sport nationwide. On top of that, NBL.tv will be a league-owned platform rather than one owned by a rights-holder – so the NBL will retain control of its own broadcast product and benefit directly from the revenue generated by it. It gives us a major new revenue stream, as well as an attractive new proposition for sponsors.”
Chris Mutimer, managing director of Perform Media Australia, added: “The commercial opportunities around giving sports fans access to live sports content on-the-go are considerable, and it’s a service that’s already proved hugely popular in other countries. We’ve already had a lot of interest from media buyers and other sports, due to the ability to target individual consumer groups. The deal also sees our international digital broadcast capability launching in Australia, and establishes a unique end-to-end solution for sports focused on driving new revenue streams.”