Facebook is partnering with Fox Sports to exclusively broadcast one BIG3 basketball game on the social media network every Friday night this summer.
Nine such games, beginning Jun. 22, will stream on Facebook Watch in the U.S. and on the Fox Sports BIG3 page internationally. The first game pits 2017 league MVP Rashard Lewis, adn two-time NBA All-Star, and his 3 Headed Monsters team against Mike Bibby’s Ghost Ballers.
“As a start-up professional sports league, we have an innate flexibility that allows us to adapt and cater to our growing audience,” said BIG3 co-CEO Jeff Kwatinetz in a press release. “Given that our fans had an average age of more than 10 years younger than typical basketball fans, we want to provide digital viewing experiences so they can engage with our league in a format that best suits their viewing preferences.”
Fox Sports will produce all the broadcasts, much like MLB Network is producing Facebook’s weekly baseball games. Facebook will also carry recaps of all 37 BIG3 games this summer up through the Aug. 24 championship in Brooklyn.
“Basketball conversation doesn’t have an offseason on our platform, so we’re excited for these social-first broadcasts to amplify this engagement over the summer and help FOX Sports bring the big names and big plays of the BIG3 to new audiences around the world,” Devi Mahadevia, Facebook’s live sports programming lead for North America, said in the release.
SportTechie Takeaway
The Ice Cube co-created three-on-three basketball generated enough traction in 2017’s inaugural season that Fox Sports renewed the broadcast deal for another year. With former NBA stars like Amar’e Stoudemire, Baron Davis, Kenyon Martin, Stephen Jackson, Chauncey Billups, and Metta World Peace (as well as fan favorites like Nate Robinson and Brian Scalabrine) as players, the league has the right mix of talent and nostalgia to capture an audience. Facebook was already partnered with Fox on UEFA Champions League coverage, so this is a natural extension of that relationship.