Internet giant Amazon has agreed a deal with North America’s Women’s National Basketball Association to show a further six games in the 2021 season live on its Prime Video platform in India.
The two announced a deal in May that gave Amazon exclusive rights in the country to broadcast 16 WNBA games a season, as well as the Commissioner's Cup Championship Game on August 12, which was won by the Seattle Storm.
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A game per week has been shown on Prime since the season tipped off, with the original deal running through until 16 September.
From 21 August, however, an additional six games will be slotted into Prime’s Indian schedule, starting with the New York Liberty taking on the Storm.
Sunny Malik, head of global content and media distribution at NBA India, said: “We are pleased to offer WNBA games to our fans in India through Amazon Prime Video. The collaboration will provide easy access to the games, expand our visibility and reach in the region and educate fans further about one of the most popular sports leagues in the world.”
Chaitanya Divan, spokesperson for Amazon Prime Video, added: “We are confident that the world-class, friction-free live experience of the WNBA games on Amazon Prime Video will delight the growing base of basketball fans in India.”
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By GlobalDataMeanwhile, Buzzer, the US direct-to-consumer mobile platform, has agreed a deal with the WNBA to show live in-game content on its platform.
The partnership sees the WNBA become the first women's professional sports league to be offered on the platform and will allow fans to access live game content through customised and curated alerts.
Sabrina Ionescu, New York Liberty guard and Buzzer investor, said: “With Buzzer, fans will have the opportunity to watch all the amazing moments in real-time…
“Buzzer recognises the importance of amplifying women's sports and reaching younger generations of sports fans, and this partnership with the WNBA is just the first step in realizing our mission to advance visibility of women's sports.”
Elsewhere, the renowned Chicago Bulls, the Detroit Pistons and the Minnesota Timberwolves, all from the men's NBA, and the Timberwolves’ WNBA counterpart the Minnesota Lynx, are among the latest additions to the roster of blockchain-based fan engagement platform Socios.com.
All four have become official team partners of the platform, starting from the 2021-22 season for the three NBA outfits and the 2022 season for the Lynx, who are the first official WNBA partners of the platform.
Socios will variously provide fan engagement opportunities through monthly Twitter Polls, have TV-visible branding in their home arenas, have its logo present on the teams’ digital channels and run promotions and giveaways.
It has also secured some brand usage rights.
The four teams join a fast-growing stable of basketball partners for Socios, which already includes the Philadelphia 76ers, the Boston Celtics, the Sacramento Kings, the Houston Rockets, the Detroit Pistons, the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Orlando Magic and, announced earlier this week, the LA Clippers.
In addition, Socios has partnerships across soccer, Formula 1, MMA, esports and cricket, contributing to a total upwards of 40.
