YouTube has gone back on its plans to introduce sports live-streaming for South African subscribers just a day after releasing a statement sharing the plans.
This came after the announcement of YouTube’s partnership with NBA Africa.
Had the plan gone through (should it go through in future) users would have access to live or on-demand streaming of rugby, cricket, soccer and basketball games.
Some of the popular sports events covered would be the UEFA Champions league and Europa leagues, Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Spain’s 123 league football (La Liga, Ligue 1, and Serie A), the local ABSA Premier League, the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the 2019 NBA Finals.
The retraction only applies to live-streaming the events. YouTube has clarified that the sports content will be available as highlight or video-on-demand.
Dayo Olopade, YouTube content partnerships lead said, “It goes without saying that Africa is a sport-loving continent, so it makes perfect sense for us to bring African sports fans what they love. Our audience is constantly looking for sports content.”
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Olopade adds, “In 2018, we saw a 70 per cent increase of views in Sports & Fitness content across Europe, the Middle East and Africa with content garnering more than 61 billion views. Today we are here to say we hear you and we are more than happy to bring you the content you desire, in partnership with NBA Africa and our other partners.”
