Fans of the NBA rejoice. Recently the league announced that they will allow fans to purchase individual games for $6.99. Currently, the options for fans to watch games include local broadcast networks, national networks like ABC, TNT, ESPN, NBA TV, Â and the subscription based NBA League Pass – which cost $199.99 per season for total access.
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It’s one of several new changes that were teased earlier this spring when NBA commissioner Adam Silver spoke at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. “…Most people don’t want to consume that many games” he concluded, as the league has also introduced a “team package†where fans who live out of a team’s market can follow all of their games for $119.99.
As noted by ESPN, ‘fans will be able to watch the game on broadband for computers, tablets and mobile devices. It is not clear which television distributors will participate in offering single games.’
The NBA continues to tweak it’s broadcast formula, even among record breaking television rights deals. It’s the league’s willingness to reinvent the way it offers its product to fans and consumers that has led it to hosting camps and exhibition games internationally. While NBA League Pass is available in more than 200 countries, it’s currently unclear whether the individual game option will be available internationally, or what the price will be.
Kelly Dwyer, an editor for Ball Don’t Lie – part of the Yahoo Sports network – offered this praise to the league following the announcement;
‘Exposure is key, sports fans and televised talent show-watchers are the only ones left out there that still have to sit through commercials, and the game itself is the best advertisement the NBA can produce. It’s nice to know that some fans, even if it’s just once or twice per month or even season, will get a reasonable chance to see what we’re watching every night. Sound move, NBA.’