Kenyans will enjoy NBA games on NTV following the signing of a multi-year partnership between the premier basketball league and Nation Media Group (NMG).
The deal announced on Friday, March 5 made NTV the NBA’s official free-to-air broadcast partner in Kenya. The exclusive sports offering is expected to offer a major boost to NTV’s ratings while also growing interest in the sport in Kenya.
Monday, March 8 will see NTV broadcast the first fixture under the deal, Team Lebron vs Team Durant in the 70th All-Star Game at 2.30 PM EAT. It will also see NTV broadcast more than 25 live games in the second half of the season, including regular season games, the play-offs and Conference finals.
NTV will also broadcast a weekly magazine show, NBA Action.
“This partnership is part of our continued efforts to make the game of basketball more accessible across the continent, and fans in Kenya will now have an opportunity to follow their favorite players and teams on NTV throughout the season,” noted NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams.
On its part, NMG noted that it hoped the partnership would not only entertain Kenyans but also drive the development of the sport in Kenya.
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“We are excited to enter into this partnership with NBA to deliver to Kenyans the beautiful game of basketball.
“This will be a great addition to the existing array of sports where our NTV audiences can access world class basketball viewing from the comfort of their homes. This partnership reaffirms our commitment to development of sports in Kenya and we believe will inspire our youth to take it up as a profession and make it to the international stage,” noted Group CEO Stephen Gitagama.
Basketball fans in the country welcomed the partnership noting it would make the sport more accessible.
It comes at a time when there is increased interest in the sport among Kenyans following the qualification of the Morans, the mens’ national team, to AfroBasket 2021 to be held in Kigali, Rwanda.
Kenya hasn’t made an appearance at the premier continental basketball tournament in 28 years, and needed a buzzer-beater from Tyler Ongwae against defending champions Angola in the qualifiers to book their place in Kigali.
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