The NBA will stream a regular season game on Facebook Live for the first time Sunday when the Golden State Warriors visit the Sacramento Kings, with stream made available only to fans in another continent.
The Facebook broadcast will be geo-fenced and only available to fans in India, where according to an NBA spokesman, more than a million of the 32 million “Likes” of the NBA Facebook page come from. The Facebook pages of the two teams will also have the streaming for fans in India, and according to the Warriors, “a large number” of their 9.9 million followers on Facebook are from there.
The Kings are holding their fourth annual Bollywood Night for the game, making the in-arena entertainment also accessible in India on the Facebook Live including themed performances from the Sacramento Kings Dancers as well as the Bollywood-style introductions and graphics on the arena 4K Ultra HD videoboard.
Additionally, the stream enables the league to test out the new NBA Mobile View feed on Facebook Live. NBA Mobile View has been available as an option for NBA LEAGUE PASS games this seasons for fans who wish to receive a zoomed-in view of the action on tablets and smartphones.
“Technology allows us to enhance the fan experience – in the arena and around the world like never before,” said Kings Owner and Chairman Vivek Ranadivé, the NBA’s first India-born majority owner. “Through this groundbreaking live broadcast, we’ll be able to engage new fans, introduce many to the excitement of NBA basketball for the first time, and share the Kings cultural showcase that Sacramento-based fans enjoy every year – through an incredibly powerful network that brings people together.”
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The Kings had previously brought unique game footage to India, live streaming its 2015 season opener in virtual reality to students at Dhirubai Ambani International School in Mumbai, India.
An NBA preseason game has previously been streamed on Facebook Live to a geo-fenced audience, as the Orlando Magic offered its contest against the San Antonio Spurs in October to anyone within a 75-mile radius of the Amway Center.
In the summer, the NBA’s Facebook page also was a destination for the streaming of NBA TV’s coverage of the USA Basketball national teams’ exhibition games leading up to the Olympics.
Also, all NBA Development League games this season are streamed on Facebook Live with the excluding ones appearing on national television.