COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Sept. 8, 2020) – Starting in 2021, USA Volleyball events will be more accessible than ever thanks to a new partnership with BallerTV, which will stream USAV-owned events for the next four years.
BallerTV will stream every match from every court from some of the nation’s premiere volleyball tournaments. Covered events will include, but not be limited to, the Sunshine Classic Girls Junior National Qualifier, the USA Volleyball Open National Championship, the Girls Junior National Championship, the Girls 18s Junior National Championship, the Boys Junior National Championship and the USA Volleyball High Performance Championship.
“This exciting partnership provides a whole new level of benefit to our members and fans” said Jamie Davis, USAV president and CEO. “Family and friends will be able to watch every match of their loved ones and college coaches will be able to view recruits without leaving their offices. With the new safety precautions resulting from COVID-19, everyone will be able to catch all of the action from the safety of their homes.”
Live-streamed matches at USA Volleyball championship events have been available with a limited footprint of up to four courts streamed at each event. Next season, members and fans will still be able to view such streams at selected events at no cost. In addition, the BallerTV platform will provide the option to subscribe to view streams on every court. Matches covered by BallerTV will give family and friends the ability to watch (and re-watch!) live-stream footage in the comfort of their home or on-the-go via their mobile website. Subscribers will also have access to a full library of past and present footage so they can review film from previous competitions.
“USAV represents some of the best volleyball the sport has to offer. We could not be more excited to be partnered with USAV in providing the best possible digital experience for these amazing athletes, coaches and their families,” said Sandeep Hingorani, founding team member and EVP of BallerTV. “We are honored to be the video home for USAV events for many years to come.”
With restrictions in place due to COVID-19, thousands of NCAA coaches are making use of BallerTV’s platform to review footage and give them more data on prospective recruits. Through the partnership, BallerTV and USAV work together to develop new ways to capture player statistics and analyze player performance.
“At the heart of our mission will always be the connection between athlete and family,” Hingorani said. “As a by-product of that mission, BallerTV has become an invaluable tool for scouting. Some of our most exciting future product initiatives are geared toward using technology to enable more efficient discovery of talent for the college recruiting community.”
College coaches, facing limited scouting opportunities and declining travel budgets, will be big beneficiaries of this new partnership.
“USA Volleyball’s agreement with BallerTV is an exciting step forward in the accessibility of livestream volleyball,” said Erin Virtue, USAV Women’s National Team assistant coach and a former college coach. “Coaches, families, recruiters, scouts and athletes can all benefit from this new partnership. As a former collegiate coach, I know there is so much ground to cover to recruit at large USAV national championship events. This collaboration will allow recruiters to be able to see more matches, both live and on-demand, raising the level and opportunity of assessment.”