The NBA Signs New, Exclusive Content Deal with Twitter, Including 40 Twitter Spaces Events

The National Basketball Association has a strong presence on Twitter, and today the platform announced a new content arrangement with the league, which will see the NBA continue to supply exclusive material, highlights, and free live game parts for selected games as part of a multi-year agreement.

According to the NBA:

"Since joining Twitter in 2009, the NBA has grown to become one of the world's largest Twitter communities, with over 380 million followers across all league, franchise, and player platforms."

This has provided both Twitter and the NBA with significant opportunities for increased connection and fan engagement, which it hopes to build on with its new content deal and initiatives, which include the continuation of its #NBATwitterLive streaming option for the second halves of select NBA on TNT games. The NBA will also stream unique Twitter Spaces content throughout the upcoming season, which is an important addition to this new agreement.

75th Anniversary-themed versions of the NBA's 40 scheduled Twitter Spaces will be designed around tentpole moments and big events like Christmas Day, NBA All-Star Weekend, and the NBA Finals. NBA players, legends, and other members of the NBA family will discuss on-court storylines and reminisce on the league's illustrious 75-year history on The Spaces. While Twitter is still aiming to make Spaces a prominent component of the app, building on the popularity of social audio earlier this year, the inclusion of unique, popular content will go a long way toward attracting more listeners and making Spaces a greater priority.

The NBA Spaces will also allow for sponsorship, giving marketers new ways to "connect and engage with fans through live NBA audio," according to the company.

It's still too early to tell whether Spaces will be able to maintain its momentum, given part of its early gains were likely due to the COVID lockdowns and the necessity for alternative social outlets. Twitter, on the other hand, is aiming to make it a thing, and with its dedicated Spaces tab still on the way, as well as unique Spaces content like this, it has plenty of time to promote the feature and get more people interested. It'll also be fascinating to watch if Twitter's future media deals include Spaces obligations.