As digital media tech grows, viewers continue to crave the ability to live stream their favorite sporting events.
As partnerships develop between major professional leagues and social media platforms such as the NFL, the streaming of the 2015 NBA Finals, and even the biggest fight of the century between Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather, viewers expect streaming to reach millions more and become available across multiple platforms.
With the demand for live streaming increasing, the 2016 FIBA U17 Men’s and Women’s World Championships capitalized and netted record-breaking streaming numbers during the competitions that took place in Zaragoza, Spain from June 22 – July 3.
More than 3.1 million viewers hovered in front of their Facebook browsers, eyes locked in on FIBA’s personal Facebook page and another 2.5 million viewers gazed into their screens watching the action on FIBA’s YouTube channel. This victory for Facebook is much needed after dropping the ball in their battle with Twitter who partnered with the NFL and claimed the rights to stream Thursday Night Football games.
Facebook’s streaming has reached a variety of sporting events over the years, covering Major League Gaming, the MLB, Premier League cricket matches and other competitions. FIBA’s Facebook viewer climb is a step in the right direction. The Men’s Quarter-Final between France and Lithuania generated the most live views ever for the World Championships reaching 170,000 views.
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YouTube also prospered in its streaming of the 2016 Championships. The 1.9 million views of the men’s game marked a 129 percent increase for the same event in 2014, and the women’s game also experienced a jump, 360 percent to 600,000 views since its 2014 numbers.
Combined, YouTube and Facebook reached 220,000 views during the Quarter-Final game which set a new live audience record for a youth basketball game with YouTube bringing in another 50,000 views. This total eclipsed the previous 200,000 record views during the Round of 16 featuring Australia-Bosnia against Herzegovina on June 28.
FIBA has committed to live stream 480 games and 840 hours of its youth national team championship on its Facebook and YouTube channels this year. The production criteria includes from one to five cameras, replays and graphic edits as well. Across the globe, fans everywhere will be able to experience free and high quality streaming capabilities.
FIBA hopes that the streams will grow basketball viewership worldwide and especially the World Championship competition in the future. Perhaps 2018 will reach high arching streaming records, but for now, Facebook and YouTube have impacted millions of viewers as they watch the high-flying abilities of these teenage sensations.