Unicorns’ MLC Matches to be Shown Live in California on NBC Sports

The remaining five San Francisco Unicorns’ Major League Cricket matches will be shown live, without delay, on NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California, in partnership with cricket streaming provider Willow by Cricbuzz.

In the landmark agreement, the Unicorns’ upcoming fixtures against the Texas Super Kings, LA Knight Riders, and MI New York, and two matches against West Coast rivals Seattle Orcas, will be readily available to sports and local cricket fans across the Bay Area.

The Unicorns have shown an aggressive, exciting style of play under coach Shane Watson in their first two matches of this season. They’ll be looking to kick on and show their quality over broadcast to their Bay Area supporters who have not been able to travel to the two cricket grounds in Grand Prairie, TX, near Dallas, and Morrisville, NC.

The regional NBC Sports networks are also expected to attract fans of elite sport from the Northern California area and those who enjoyed the recent T20 World Cup, which saw the USA exceed expectations in a thrilling run to the Super 8 stage. Corey Anderson, who was captain of the USA team earlier this summer, also leads out the Unicorns, with the team also featuring a number of other internationals, including Australian test captain Pat Cummins, Kiwi big hitter Finn Allen, and Pakistani pace bowler Haris Rauf.

Anand Rajaraman, Co-Owner of the San Francisco Unicorns, said of the deal, “Broadcasting deals like this with NBC Sports allow us to bridge that gap between our first-class team on tour and our ever-growing fanbase back home. We’ve got major ambitions to become a mainstay of the sporting community in the Bay Area for decades to come. With added exposure, we’re excited to show the quality in our roster and the entertainment we can offer to all sports fans.”

David White, General Manager of the San Francisco Unicorns, added, “There’s a buzz around the team after this broadcast announcement. The guys love playing live to fans in the stadium, but there’s an understanding that to take this franchise to its full potential, we need to be taking the thrill of T20 cricket directly to the millions of curious sports viewers and ever-growing community of Unicorns supporters in the Bay Area and beyond.”

The matches to be streamed live on the NBC Sports Bay Area and NBC Sports California networks are:

• Saturday, July 13: Los Angeles Knight Riders vs. San Francisco Unicorns (12 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Monday, July 15: Seattle Orcas vs. San Francisco Unicorns (12 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Thursday, July 18: MI New York vs. San Francisco Unicorns (5:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Bay Area)
• Saturday, July 20: San Francisco Unicorns vs. Seattle Orcas (5:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports California)
• Monday, July 22: San Francisco Unicorns vs. Washington Freedom (5:30 p.m. PT, NBC Sports Bay Area Plus)