In what has turned into a year of live streaming mania, the Orlando Magic are joining the growing industry trend as it will broadcast its Wednesday night preseason game against the San Antonio Spurs on Facebook Live. Due to NBA rules, anyone within a 75-mile radius of the Amway Center will be able to watch the game on the social media platform.
This will be the Magic’s first time featuring a game on Facebook Live. The live broadcast will not only include the in-arena feed but also team radio broadcasters Dennis Neumann (play-by-play) and Richie Adubato (color commentator) on the call.
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The NBA previously worked with Facebook this summer to live stream USA Basketball National Team exhibition games on Facebook Live that were simulcasts of NBA TV game coverage.
And the Magic isn’t the only NBA franchise to leverage Facebook Live in the preseason. On Oct. 1, the Atlanta Hawks utilized the social channel to live stream an open practice, receiving more than one million views. For the franchise, it was its first time live streaming its players on the hardwood as well. As the NBA preseason continues, do not be surprised if more teams experiment with the non-traditional broadcast.
In July, Twitter and the NBA announced that the league would live stream two original shows via Twitter beginning with the upcoming 2016-17 season. The first show will be a weekly pregame show that will debut around the start of the NBA season. The free content will be available exclusively on Twitter.