The NBA 2K League and YouTube have announced a new partnership that will see YouTube livestream all NBA 2K League games throughout the current season. YouTube will simulcast more than 230 games for the esports league across the regular season, tournament matches, playoffs, and finals.
Games will broadcast on the official NBA 2K League YouTube Channel. As part of the deal, the channel will also distribute highlights from games throughout the 18-week season. The league’s second year tipped off on Apr. 2, and is comprised of weekly matchups and three tournaments, culminating with the playoffs and finals in August. The NBA 2K League did not disclose exact terms or length of its broadcast deal with YouTube in a press release sent to SportTechie.
Prior to the start of last year’s inaugural season, Amazon-owned Twitch signed a multi-year deal to broadcast every NBA 2K League game. All games this season will continue to broadcast on the league’s Twitch channel, though fans now also have the option of viewing games for free through YouTube. Twitch and YouTube are the top two live-streaming destinations for video games users in the U.S.
The NBA became the first professional sports league to launch its own official channel on YouTube in 2005. The NBA’s plan to add its esports league to its YouTube offerings is the latest partnership between the two. Last month the NBA launched a new YouTube channel that will stream live games to fans in Africa.