NBA Introduces Fan-Friendly New Options For Consuming Live Content

The National Basketball Association is never afraid to push the envelope, whether it be the league’s support of legalizing and regulating sports betting prior to the federal ban being rescinded or reinforcing its rule that players and coaches stand for the national anthem. On September 27, the NBA broke ground in another area — technology.

The NBA is giving consumers a new bite-sized opportunity to consume professional basketball content. It is offering fans the ability to purchase and watch live NBA games already in progress for a reduced price.

Starting with the 2018-19 NBA season, fans will be able to purchase a single game on NBA League Pass from the end of the third quarter to the end of the game for a very low price of $1.99. If there is a close game and buzz is off the charts on Twitter, then you will be able to make the micro-transaction and watch live instead of waiting for the highlights.

In early December, the league will also roll out an option to purchase access to games at the beginning of each quarter. Yet another option, the opportunity to purchase ten minutes of real-time  access will be unrolled at a later date as well.

“This continues a trend of paring down live sports into bite size morsels that appeases the continued trend of cord cutting while catering to shorter attention spans,” says rEvolution VP of Media & Business Development, Larry Mann. “With sports being the only real remaining avenue where live broadcast is embraced, this model is interesting because it creates new opportunities for advertisers in markets where they normally would not be seen (simply for fans and, let’s be honest, bettors, to watch the final minutes or seconds of a game at a low cost).”

It is definitely a forward-thinking move by the NBA, which is a league that is definitely known for being ahead of the curve.

“NBA Digital and MLB Advanced Media (to name a few) have breathed new life into regional broadcasts and have reinvented the sports consumption experience in a world where half of Millennials watch sports on PCs, tablets, phones and gaming consoles,” adds Mann. “This latest move further creates a custom viewing experience, limits commitment and expands reach nationally and internationally where purchases otherwise may not have been made.”