Inside Turner Studios in Atlanta. Photo by Kevin Lisota/GeekWire.
Inside Turner Studios in Atlanta. Photo by Kevin Lisota/GeekWire.

As the 2016-17 season kicks off today, the NBA revealed more details about the two weekly shows it will stream exclusively on Twitter.

First announced in July, the league will live-stream two new weekly NBA shows on Twitter for both logged-in users and those without an account.

The Starters Twitter Show will air each Tuesday at 8 a.m. PT; The Warmup will air each Thursday at 4:30 p.m. PT.

Here are show descriptions from the NBA:

The Starters Twitter Show — featuring NBA TV’s social-savvy, popular collection of fan-focused voices with a unique take on the game, will be streamed live each Tuesday throughout the regular season beginning on opening day, Oct. 25, at 11 a.m. ET.  Co-hosts J.E. Skeets and Tas Melas, along with Trey Kerby, Leigh Ellis, Matt Osten and Jason Doyle, will deliver their trademark passion for the game with the same fun, entertaining and engaging content that they provide each week on NBA TV and through their podcasts.

The Warmup, a blend of the NBA, lifestyle, music, and pop culture, will be a weekly NBA pregame show that integrates Twitter conversation into every program.  The show will be live streamed from Turner Studios’ new state-of-the-art social content studio beginning Thursday, Oct. 27, at 7:30 p.m. The 30-minute show, leading up to Turner Sports’ NBA on TNT coverage featuring doubleheader action, will be co-hosted by sports and entertainment commentator Ben Lyons and emcee, DJ and sports personality Ro Parrish. Both personalities have a wide range of experiences across television, radio, social and digital content, including host and guest appearances on prominent national shows.

The shows will be produced by Turner Sports from Turner Studios in Atlanta. Turner and the NBA co-manage NBA Digital, which operates the league’s web properties, apps, and streaming platforms.

twitter-birdThe NBA, which this week also unveiled new Twitter emojis for all 30 teams, has yet to announce any live-streaming plans for actual games. That’s one key difference between this deal and Twitter’s new partnership with the NFL, which is streaming 10 Thursday Night Football games exclusively on the social media platform this season.

Twitter has inked a handful of these live sports streaming deals over the the past year as the company struggles to add new users and make more money. As it prepares to release its quarterly earnings report on Thursday, Twitter is reportedly on the verge of slashing 300 jobs.

Twitter stock has fallen approximately 40 percent in the last year, and it hasn’t been able to grow its user base as fast as competitors like Facebook and Instagram. The company has reportedly explored a sale, but many of its potential suitors, like Salesforce, Disney, Google and Apple, among others, have publicly stated they aren’t interested.

The NBA, meanwhile, is investing big in technology. Last week, the league announced that League Pass subscribers will get access to one game per week broadcasted in virtual reality. Then on Monday, it unveiled a new feature for League Pass subscribers that provides a zoomed-in, tighter shot of games optimized for smaller screens.

The NBA, which has the most Twitter followers of the four big U.S. sports leagues, also recently inked a long-term deal with Sportradar and Second Spectrum for a new player-tracking system and expanded global distribution of statistics. And even more, it expanded its partnership with Snapchat for this season.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.