Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent will become the first platform to stream NBA 2K League matches in China.
The deal sees Tencent acquire the rights to livestream the 2019 NBA 2K playoff and finals matches across its Sports, Video and News platforms, with the first playoff match starting on July 24 at the league’s studios in New York.
Eight teams will compete for the title between July 24 and the final on August 3. The teams are five-strong, mirroring the number of players on a basketball side, with each member controlling one player in the game.
The announcement sees Tencent become the latest tech business to have signed a streaming deal with the NBA 2K League. YouTube and the league agreed a deal in April, which would see all matches simulcast on its platform as well as video game streaming platform Twitch, while highlights and online clips are shown on the League’s YouTube channel.
NBA 2K League grew out of the NBA 2K video game franchise and was formed in 2017 as a joint venture by American basketball league the National Basketball Association and Take Two Interactive, the video game publishing company behind the 2K franchise.