Bowls England is pleased to announce that all 18 days of Aviva National Finals (15 August – 1st September 2024) will be streamed online, and available for everyone to view free of charge, for the second year running.
Thanks to principal partner, Aviva, streaming will take place across the entire event, with up to 50 games available for spectators to watch online for free, on our dedicated streaming platform. This has all been made possible due to the unwavering success of last year, which saw 4 million minutes of bowls watched throughout the event, and thousands of new people engaging with our wonderful sport.
Coverage will include live commentary and interviews from an array of players and notable figures within the world of bowls. Our lead commentators for this year are Emily Ferguson, who has been a part of the Bowls England commentary team since 2021, has featured at the Indoor World Bowls Championships at Potters Resorts and took the stage at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games as an announcer. Josh Pounds, who has been the voice of many Indoor Bowls events including the Indoor World Bowls Championships. Finally, Nick Irvine, who comes with 35 years’ experience of sports commentating across a variety of events and notable broadcasters. Matches streamed will showcase world-class skill and rivalries from the top of the game, with an elevated spectator experience by prioritising Singles and Pairs, giving the viewer the best possible views of the events. Match fairness will be at the forefront of the decision-making regarding streamed matches, ensuring players are not on the same rink on the same day.
As one of the most inclusive sports in the world, we are proud to celebrate what makes us unique and will feature matches with a broad gender split and two of our Disability Bowls England fixtures.
This significant investment in streaming from both Bowls England and Aviva, aims to bring fans closer to the pinnacle of the bowls season, whilst reaching even more people across the length and breadth of the country.
Our live scoring platform will also return for the second year, so fans can stay up to date with all the action from across all five greens at the venue in Royal Leamington Spa.
Bowls England Chief Executive, Jon Cockcroft said,
“We understand that streaming opportunities are greatly desired by the bowls community and have committed a significant investment, alongside support from Aviva, to provide our fans with another 18 days’ worth of streaming of this year’s Aviva National Finals.
“As national governing body of this wonderful sport, we continue to strive for the best possible service to our community, as well as creating ways to grow the awareness of the game and reach new audiences. The investment that has been made is considerable, as such, we ask that the bowls community support this venture by encouraging friends and family to tune in and engaging with content on the platform so we can continue to provide streaming to this extent in future years.
“We thank Aviva for sharing in our vision to amplify our event, and hope that all spectators, whether visiting Royal Leamington Spa or tuning in via our streaming service, enjoy watching the world-class bowls on display.”
Doug Brown, CEO Insurance, Wealth & Retirement Aviva, said:
“We were pleased to play a part in providing the Bowls family with a service that is so sought after, and are thrilled to be offering live streaming once again this year. We are proud to be a part of the Bowls England family and will always support in providing the best possible service to everyone, something we are committed to at Aviva.
“We continually look to help enrich lives, connect communities, and enhance the health of future generations. With Bowls England’s similar ethos, we are happy to help push the boundaries of the sport.”
The streaming platform will be provided by Staylive, who have extensive experience in building purpose built streaming platforms for national governing bodies. The platform provides tracking capabilities, such as data capture and traffic numbers, which will help build further insight in a bid to secure future interest in streaming at events, as it has done for this second year of the Aviva National Finals.
You can tune in to the action each day at bowlsengland.com/bowlstv, as well as reliving the excitement from 2023. To see the action live – tickets start at £5.50 for adults and £2 for Under 18s for tickets bought in advance, and you can save around £3 per person if you book online ahead of your visit. Click here to book now.
If you fancy an elevated experience, why not try our hospitality offering? For just £78 per person, you can enjoy all the action whilst diving into a delectable food hamper from local producers, Farmer’s Fayre, and complimentary hot drinks and biscuits throughout your day – the perfect energy boost before you head on to the prestigious greens for a game of Bowls Bash – find out more here.