MUMBAI: The National Basketball League (NBL) has signed a five-year deal with the Indian digital sports network VEQTA to increase its international footprint.

VEQTA is a digital platform dedicated to streaming live sport and providing video-on-demand sports content on smartphones. The long-term agreement sees VEQTA gain exclusive rights to stream all NBL games in India up until the 2020-21 season.

NBL general manager Jeremy Loeliger said, "They are a young ambitious digital company that is taking an innovative approach to digital sports broadcasting. They also have a pedigree of amazing success in this space.”

“Just like Australia, India is a sports mad country and by partnering with VEQTA we have a fantastic opportunity to take the NBL to yet another one of the biggest sports markets in the world.”

Loeliger also said that in addition to loving their sport, Indians love their technology. “There are currently in excess of 300 million smartphone users in India and, by 2020, this figure is set to grow a staggering 260 per cent to 800 million users. The opportunity to engage with India’s large, knowledgeable sports loving public is something the NBL is very excited about,” he said.

VEQTA co-founder and director, Gaurav Gill, is similarly enthusiastic about how digital technologies can foster a better viewing experience and allow sports like the NBL to grow a substantial following in India.

“Basketball is the number one school sport in tier 1 & 2 cities in India and has a very strong following in the young urban audience. National Basketball League (NBL) is one of the most popular and well known brands in the world of basketball and we are delighted to be partnering with them to bring NBL action to the growing base of basketball fans in India," he said.

“Indian sports fans have a growing appetite for high quality global sports content and VEQTA is committed to bringing them the best content from around the world."