A couple of familiar names have joined the sports entertainment group The Nation Network (TNN) to launch a new source for all things Canadian basketball. Two of Canada’s most followed basketball media personalities, are partnering with TNN to make Hello and Welcome with Will Lou and Alex Wong, a video-podcast that promises “daily coverage of both on- and off-court developments from around the NBA, as well as host numerous community-centric events annually to continue to grow basketball fandom in Canada and beyond.”

The video-podcast, which counts Betway as presenting sponsor, will feature exclusive interviews, pre- and post-game analysis, watch-alongs, and more, according to a statement from TNN. For the 2024-25 NBA season, Will and Alex will host a three-times-weekly video-podcast series as well as 82 Raptors post-game shows, live on YouTube and distributed across all major social media and podcast platforms.

The hosts have ample experience with both the subject matter and the medium. The talent-producer duo (Lou is the talent, and Wong the producer) first made an impact with Raptors fans with their “Kawhi Watch” series and “Run It Back”, a weekly Raptors YouTube series at Yahoo Sports Canada.

“My mission has always been to deliver the best content for Raptors fans,” said Lou. “This is why I look forward to collaborating with Alex, who brings humour, perspective and ambition to the program. In partnering with TNN, I truly believe this is the best way to build upon the independent coverage and commentary that Raptors fans expect from us.”

But the show won’t just cover the Raptors. According to Adam Seaborn, senior director of sales (NA) at Better Collective, the Nation Network’s parent company, the show will cover Canadian basketball as a whole, including Team Canada’s pursuit of gold at the Paris Olympics, the future Toronto WNBA team and any other “great Canadian basketball stories” as they come up.

TNN was founded in 2007 as a standalone Edmonton Oilers fanpage before growing a portfolio of more than 35 video-podcasts and 11 websites, covering local sports across the country. According to the company, building out a basketball vertical is core to TNN’s goal to become the largest sports media company in Canada. “TNN now produces 45 hours of live content weekly, and generates more than 30 million podcast streams and 240 million pageviews annually,” the company says.

Hello and Welcome will integrate brands with live ad reads, host endorsements and product placement. Advertisers will appear in video, podcast and social channels as well as in the hosts Will Lou and Alex Wong’s personal socials.