After becoming the first athletic conference to sign a live streaming deal with Facebook earlier this Fall, the Atlantic 10 announced Wednesday it had secured a presenting sponsor for its package of 10 to 15 men’s basketball games airing on Facebook Live this season.
Starting Wednesday night when Dayton hosts Vanderbilt, promotion of SportsPITTSBURGH — a sports development division of VisitPITTSBURGH — will appear within the Facebook Live game posts. The agreement also includes digital and social media activation at the 2017 Atlantic 10 Men’s Basketball Championship.
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“We are honored that the Atlantic 10 has chosen Pittsburgh as the site for this year’s tournament,” Jennifer Hawkins, Executive Director of SportsPITTSBURGH, said in a statement. “Pittsburgh is a legendary sports city, and we are excited to showcase elite college basketball in our iconic venue — PPG Paints Arena. We will exceed the highest expectations of the A-10 players, coaches, alumni and fans due to the collaboration between our attractions, businesses and Duquesne University. We look forward to crowning the next A-10 champions in Pittsburgh in March.”
According to the A-10, the two first conference games live streamed on the social platform in mid-November garnered over 250,000 unique viewers, so there’s clearly an appetite for the live digital content. As the sample size increases from a broadcast standpoint, expect more corporations and brands to take notice and buy-in to the social offerings.
“It’s important to the Atlantic 10 and all of our constituent groups that we keep pace with the latest technology and that we continuously explore new ways to engage with our fans,” said Bernadette McGlade, A-10 Commissioner about the initial conference deal with Facebook in late October. “Delivering real time games on Facebook Live gives us opportunities to experiment with new ways to include our corporate partners in our digital strategy and enhance the value of being associated with the A-10.”