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| (Image Source: GadgetMatch/Facebook/NBA Philippines) |
For the first time in more than a decade, the National Basketball
Association (NBA) streamed some of its live games on the official Facebook and
Twitter pages of NBA Philippines for Filipino basketball fans who were anxiously
anticipating the start of the league's new season and it is already gaining
strong traction thanks to a strong dedicated fanbase of local hoopnuts.
Its featured tipoff game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles
Clippers generated more than two million unique views on social media which is without
question an intriguing good start while waiting for an announcement on where we
are going to watch the NBA on television following the sudden termination of Basketball
TV and NBA Premium TV which were among the most actively watched sports
channels in our shores. Fortunately, it will only be a matter of time before a
new local TV broadcast deal will be announced and it is slated to come as soon
as possible.
Filipino sports lovers and enthusiasts were in a rude awakening last
month when Solar Entertainment Corporation officially announced on social media
that both BTV and NBA Premium TV will be permanently signed off on the first
day of October where it happens to be the day when the deal between Solar and the
Association is about to be expired. After the termination, two major Philippine
media and broadcast companies - ABS-CBN Corporation and Cignal TV - made a joint
bid on negotiating for a new broadcast deal but failed to reach an agreement in time for the new season to begin for now. Negotiations are still ongoing, though,
and we are hoping that these will come into fruition and have a better outcome
that will bring the NBA back to our small screens yet again.
For now, digital is the way to go for Filipinos to enjoy indulging on
the showcase of prowess from their favorite NBA stars considering that the Philippines
has the most number of social media users in the world based on various
reports. After the opening week, selected NBA games will be streamed live and
free on Facebook and Twitter every Monday and Thursday starting October 31,
2019. Of course, these games can also be watched on the NBA League Pass
subscription service via the NBA App on your smartphones. Once a new television deal becomes official, NBA will
continue to provide updates and highlights on what they have missed on its
social media accounts.
