Twitter will broadcast NBA games with a camera focused on a single player

Twitter is preparing to run a new experiment with the National Basketball Association, and it could impact the way some of the biggest basketball fans watch games in the future.

The social media company announced at CES 2019 that it will begin streaming parts of NBA games this year — but with a strange twist.

Twitter will broadcast only the second half of select games, beginning next month with the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday, Feb. 17.

The NBA will let fans vote on the @NBAonTNT Twitter account for who they want a camera to focus on during the second half of the game. 

Fans will be asked to watch the first half of the game on TV, then vote on a player for the “iso-cam” to focus on during the second half, which will be streamed on Twitter for free.

The goal of the experiment is to create a more interactive experience for basketball fans. The league is already regarded as one of the most engaged in professional sports, and surely, this will encourage the most diehard fans to keep posting their thoughts while watching games.

If you’re wondering what happens if a player leaves the game: Twitter says in the rare occasion where a player is ejected or fouls out, the camera will switch to one of the cameras that sit behind the backboards — which are often the cameras used for game highlights shown on TV.

For Twitter, this experiment marks part of a much broader push into streaming video. The company has continually emphasized its increasing focus on video, and it’s beating the same drum at CES. Twitter announced at the tech show that video accounts for more than half of the company’s ad revenue — a critical reason for why Twitter is now profitable.

Whether people actually like watching an “iso-cam” during the second half of the game remains to be seen. But one thing is already clear: For people like me who don’t have a cable subscription, this provides a great way of being able to watch all the best NBA action for free. And that is pretty hard to argue with.