Nick Whitfield
November 17, 2020
Top tier women’s basketball has just become more accessible around the worlds a result of a partnership between FIBA, Basketball Australia and Synergy Sports, that will see the entire 2020 Chemist Warehouse WNBL season livestreamed on FIBA’s YouTube channel to all markets outside of Australia.
With well over 1 million subscribers, FIBA’s YouTube channel is the largest and most diverse global platform providing free access to live and on-demand basketball games. The channel covers both elite levels of senior men’s and women’s basketball, as well as top tier international youth competitions.
This partnership builds on Synergy Sports’ existing relationships as the Chemist Warehouse WNBL’s vision rights partner, with livestreaming a key priority for Basketball Australia maximize fan engagement and foster growth for women’s basketball.
When recently speaking with media in Australia, Basketball Australia’s Head of Women in Basketball Lauren Jackson OA said, “The next critical phase for the WNBL is to capitalise on their wealth of content for fans to access and in turn drive successful commercial outcomes.
“We now have access to a wealth of high-quality content to promote the league and we are building our internal capabilities in how to successfully promote this via all our channels.
“By lifting the visibility of the product via owned and earned channels and maximising accessibility to our sport via platforms such as livestreaming, we improve our ability to grow revenue, which is a key focus area for the WNBL,” explained Jackson.
As millions of basketball fans around the world remain in lockdown and live sport restricted, this deal increases the choice of live and on-demand competition.
The WNBL is one of the top women’s basketball competitions in the world featuring the best established and emerging Australian talent, where both the senior women’s and Under 19s are ranked world number 2. This level of accessibility comes at a time when the popularity of women’s basketball has never been higher. This agreement provides audiences worldwide access to world class women’s basketball and is an important part of FIBA’s commitment to growing the women’s game.
Discussing the partnership, Synergy Sports CEO Mark Silver said, “Being able to expand our relationships with existing partners to drive an outcome that is good for both sport and fans is exactly what Synergy Sports is about.
“As basketball’s governing body, FIBA has an unrivalled platform to reach basketball fans where there may not already be commercial broadcast arrangements. This is key to expanding reach, engaging fans and attracting new players to grow the sport.”
To watch the 2020 Chemist Warehouse WNBL season LIVE in countries outside of Australia, subscribe to FIBA’s YouTube channel.