The NLL has been working to increase the visibility of the box game through all platforms, with an emphasis on digital properties.
The league announced a two-year partnership with Twitter back in March, which allowed for an NLL Game of the Week to the streamed on the social media outlet for the rest of the 2017 season and through the upcoming season. The East and West finals, as well as the Champion’s Cup, were streamed on Twitter in the spring.
The result was a strong audience for each game. According to Bloomberg, an average of 344,000 viewers tuned into each NLL Game of the Week, a sign of the willing audience for lacrosse.
Just weeks after announcing the 21-game NLL Game of the Week schedule for the 2018 season, the league has added to its digital and TV presence. The NLL will partner with CBS Sports Digital to stream live and on-demand games via the subscription service SportsLive.
“We are thrilled to continue to build upon our historic broadcasting partnerships with the addition of CBS Sports Digital,” NLL Commissioner Nick Sakiewicz said. “The future of sports is an ever-changing digital viewing experience, and bringing in a world class organization and platform like CBS Sports Digital is truly exciting for our fans. Last season we witnessed the additions of some major broadcasting partners and as a result more viewers are tuning in to NLL TV than ever before.”
The relationship between the NLL and CBS is not new, however. The league agreed to a two-year deal with CBS Sports Network in 2011, which included paying for air time.
Smaller professional leagues like the NLL and MLL have been unable to secure broadcasts on major television networks in recent years — a problem sports like football and baseball don't encounter.
That meant that the NLL had to turn to over-the-top (OTT) streaming services like NLLTV, which thrived since its inception in November of 2016.
Sakiewicz and the NLL hope the partnership with CBS Sports Digital can give fans access to even more content than before, including live games.