VANCOUVER and NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Vancouver-based BroadbandTV (BBTV) are teaming up on a new community for video creators focused on basketball and basketball culture.
Known as NBA Playmakers, the video network will offer content creators access to select NBA footage, NBA games and special events, access to NBA production facilities and merchandise. Select videos will live on a new YouTube channel, also named NBA Playmakers, which will launch later this year.
To mark the collaboration, NBA Playmakers will feature a select group of YouTube creators producing digital versions of the league’s playoffs campaign Every Second Counts, part of its ongoing “This Is Why We Play” platform. The official television spot, featuring a new track by Grammy Award-winning producer and artist Timbaland, premiered prior to the start of the playoffs, and the creator-produced versions will debut on the NBA’s social media assets during The Finals 2016.
The NBA said that NBA Playmakers is a key component of its wider youth engagement strategy and will complement the NBA channel on YouTube.
“Creating and sharing videos with others are part of being a digitally engaged fan,” said NBA VP global media distribution Jeff Marsilio, in the news release. “Our new venture with industry leader BBTV will further embrace this growing community of creators and aims to inspire original basketball content that will connect with our fans around the world.”
“Sports is a passion-driven content vertical that offers exciting opportunities for video creators, media companies, brands, and advertisers; it’s a market with massive potential,” added BroadbandTV founder and CEO Shahrzad Rafati. “NBA Playmakers brings all of the constituents together to deliver a powerful ecosystem that millennials care about. We’re empowering creators to build the future of sports entertainment by partnering with one of the most renowned sports leagues in the world, and arming them with the content, tools and solutions they need to be successful.”
