Enjoy Basketball Founders Photo
Enjoy Basketball
There is a breakthrough happening in the NBA media landscape and it is going to reshape the space as a whole. Enjoy Basketball, a digital media and lifestyle company co-founded by Youtube content creator and NBA media personality Kenny Beecham, and Up North Management Group co-founders Cole and Cody Hock have announced a partnership with NBC Sports. With this partnership, Enjoy Basketball will be able to bring their renowned podcasts to NBC streaming channels such as Peacock and NBC Sports NOW.
With social media and the entire digital media space being such a large part of NBA culture, NBC is choosing to partner with one of the leading forces in this new wave of media. With the NBA making its return to NBC after over 20 years, it was imperative that they enter this new era without neglecting any section of the media space.
“What we bring to the table in allowing them to connect to the next generation of fans, through Kenny, and through our content and our programming, it was the best marriage of both worlds. I think we can give them a creative outlet beyond the studio shows and the broadcasts themselves.” said Cody Hock, co-founder of Enjoy Basketball.
Out of all the major sports, the NBA has one of the more prominent presences on social media and Enjoy Basketball has ingratiated themselves with this younger demographic by focusing their efforts across social media. The digital media company has amassed hundreds of thousands of followers and tens of millions of impressions across their social media accounts such as TikTok, X, and Instagram. This is all in an effort to connect with a large part of NBA fans who reside online.
This partnership is the first time that NBC sports has decided to work with a creator-led company, which signifies how important NBC believes it is for digital creators and their communities to have a voice in NBA media. With this partnership, several podcasts from Enjoy Basketball including Numbers on The Board, Small Ball with Kenny Beecham, and WAG Talk will be featured on a newly created programming block on NBC Sports NOW entitled “The Enjoy Basketball Hour” which will run from 12-1:00 p.m. ET.
Not only will this partnership give Enjoy Basketball programming a home on NBC platforms, it will also allow Beecham to contribute to NBA broadcasts directly. Beecham, who gained notoriety in the NBA media space through his various Youtube channels with over 4 million subscribers across them all will be joining NBC’s broadcast team alongside NBA legends such as Reggie Miller and Carmelo Anthony as an on-air commentator.
“He’s such a unique talent, he really is the voice of the next generation of basketball fans” said Cody Hock when asked about Kenny Beecham.
“For us, we’ve always believed in Kenny’s ability, he can walk into a room full of executives and speak to to the game and speak to his audience and speak to why he delivers his message the way he does, but then he can go and turn on a camera after midnight and talk to and relate to his audience in a way that a lot of people can’t, so he has that sort of hybrid ability.” said Cole Hock, co-founder of Enjoy Basketball when asked about Kenny Beecham.
This partnership not only represents on-court coverage, but it also extends to fans who may be interested in different aspects that are connected to the game. Beecham represents a connection between the modern NBA fan and the more classic NBA fans. His unique perspective on the NBA will add a fresh perspective to the broadcast, and also drive growth for both NBC Sports and Enjoy Basketball.
“I think we fit so well into basketball culture because we talk commentary, we talk culture, entertainment sort of all mixed in one. Everything happens beyond the TV today, that’s why we’re on every platform, we’re trying to be wherever our fans are online. People want to consume basketball in different ways than just watching the broadcast,what are those interesting storylines in and around the game” said Cody Hock
Enjoy Basketball’s short-form show WAG Talk is a prime example of how there is opportunity for engagement with fans outside of those 48 minutes in an NBA game. Enjoy Basketball prides itself on meeting fans where they are, and providing multiple avenues for them to engage with basketball in many different ways. This partnership with NBC Sports places them at the forefront of the merging of legacy media and the burgeoning creator media, and this is a role that they are more than prepared to fulfill.