Written by Liz Gannes
Posted Thursday, October 29, 2009 at 6:00 AM PT

 

NBA Launches Live Game Video for iPhone and Android

The NBA has dramatically updated its mobile offerings for the 2009-10 season, including a new application for the iPhone and Android that provides live video streams of games.

nbawifiNBA League Pass Mobile costs $39.99 for the season, and gives users access to more than 40 live games each week. It identifies a user’s location via GPS in order to block access to the nearest local team, but other than that, the MobiTV-powered app is all-you-can-eat.

I tried out League Pass Mobile last night and it looked great, especially on Wi-Fi. The app includes live DVR capabilities, adaptive bitrate streaming, on-demand access to games for 48 hours, live stats, push alerts, and the ability to turn off all that information while you’re watching a game and just want to experience it in real time.

The app is not yet available publicly, but it should be out ASAP, definitely before the end of the week. Update: iPhone version is here. And paying users of NBA League Pass Broadband will have to open up their wallets again; the two products aren’t bundled.

In my testing on an iPhone (see gallery of screenshots below), the 3G stream, which AT&T ratchets down to start at 240 Kbps, crapped out on me a bit, which sucks if you’ve paid 40 bucks for it. NBA Digital general manager Bryan Perez said to expect streaming quality to improve over the course of the season. “Convenience can be just as important as the content itself,” Perez said. “Just because it’s not in HD doesn’t mean it’s not adding tremendous value to your quality of life.”

Along with the big-money video app, NBA Digital is upgrading last year’s Game Time app to a paid version ($9.99) and still giving out a free “Lite” version. The paid version, available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices, includes live audio feeds for every game — including those in your local market — as well as stats, video highlights and push alerts. The free app has scores, standings and schedules. So if you care most about not having your local team’s games blacked out, this app’s for you.

Perez told us he thinks the NBA stacks up well in digital vs. other major sports leagues because it has the youngest demographic, though he admitted that Major League Baseball has been pioneering the business models for sports delivered digitally. He contended the NBA has the immense advantage of having all its assets under one roof between television, Internet and mobile, along with a vested interest on the part of Turner to promote digital projects. Next up, Perez said NBA Digital is looking to partner with regional sports providers to try to offer in-market access to games, which would have to be a major boost to usage.

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Topic: Mobile

Comments (24)

  • Local black-outs? If I am paying for the content, shouldn’t the blackout restrictions be lifted?!

    Ryan — 9:15 AM on October 29, 2009 Reply

  • Does this work anywhere in the world or just USA?

    Jerry Salinas — 9:47 AM on October 29, 2009 Reply

  • @Ryan…

    You’re reading too quickly again. Aren’t you? Try it one more time:

    Along with the big-money video app, NBA Digital is upgrading last year’s Game Time app to a paid version ($9.99) and still giving out a free “Lite” version. The paid version, available for iPhone, Android and BlackBerry devices, includes live audio feeds for every game — including those in your local market — as well as stats, video highlights and push alerts. The free app has scores, standings and schedules. So if you care most about not having your local team’s games blacked out, this app’s for you.

    Dave — 11:56 AM on October 29, 2009 Reply

  • Way too expensive.

    Serge — 11:58 AM on October 29, 2009 Reply

  • @Dave

    Maybe you missed this paragraph that @Ryan was referring to:

    “NBA League Pass Mobile costs $39.99 for the season, and gives users access to more than 40 live games each week. It identifies a user’s location via GPS in order to block access to the nearest local team, but other than that, the MobiTV-powered app is all-you-can-eat.”

    Pete — 2:11 PM on October 29, 2009 Reply

  • ive been complaining about this for a while…

    NBA league pass’s biggest complaint has to be local black-outs… along with horrible CSR, poor controls, quality, displaying all scores for existing games (spoiling to outcome), etc.

    MLB.tv is the easy winner.. no local black-outs, HD quality, multi camera angles, cheap iphone app. etc.

    plex support for the mac would also be great.

    c

    cj — 2:21 PM on October 29, 2009 Reply

    • Umm… MLB.tv does have local blackouts. In fact I live over 400 miles from St. Louis and am still blacked out from seeing Cardinals games live… so yea…

      Dave — 7:46 PM on October 29, 2009 Reply

  • So I just paid Comcast 169.00 for NBA League Pass and now NBA wants another $40 to view the games on my iphone? That’s a bit ridiculous. If you pay for the League Pass, the app should be included in the package, as I don’t see much difference between the broadband access and the mobile access.

    MK — 4:58 PM on October 29, 2009 Reply

    • Really is ridiculous, maybe NBA would put up an offer that covers both for people always on the go but still would like to watch on their big screen. Right now it’s still new, hopefully they’ll create a better offer than that.

      John, ATT Uverse Coupons — 12:16 AM on November 5, 2009 Reply

  • I would’ve paid $129.99 for the local games alone. Some cities don’t have their games on local channels (about 30-40 for one particular NBA city).. Now I can pay $40 for something I need WiFi to use well (as in just go the computer its set up with and watch online better) and so I still can’t see my own local games????? Plus, Iphones’ got a lot of above average and wealthy users who would simply love to have the 40$ app to show off the local games and be a luxury product.

    derek — 11:21 PM on October 29, 2009 Reply

    • @derek: if your local team doesn’t have a broadcast they will show the game, local blackout only pertains to your local channel’s broadcast

      jon — 7:51 AM on October 30, 2009 Reply

  • hi !

    is the game time app relased already?

    kobelovesjuan — 1:24 AM on October 30, 2009 Reply

  • thanks for all admin
    owe you gratitude..

    sikiş — 1:43 AM on October 30, 2009 Reply

  • question: so, I can buy this and I do not need to have the NBA league pass as well correct? The $40 will let me watch all the games I want on my iPhone without having to pay for NBALP as well, correct?

    T2150 — 9:17 AM on November 2, 2009 Reply

  • Hey guys, is the League Pass app released for Android yet?
    If so, will i be able to watch the games on my phone as a european?

    Thanks for any info

    Moe — 7:25 PM on November 3, 2009 Reply

  • Hi.
    I think, there are some nice features have attached here in the NBA Launches Live Game Video for iPhone and Android…
    It gives users access to more than 40 live games each week. It identifies a user’s location via GPS in order to block access to the nearest local team, but other than that, the MobiTV-powered app is all-you-can-eat
    Thanks for providing this information here…

    nintendo ds r4 carta — 11:44 PM on November 4, 2009 Reply

  • anyone know if this will be an annual fee? or 40 bucks once and works each year?

    peter — 6:52 AM on November 5, 2009 Reply

  • I am very excited about this that this game is launched for i-phone I am always loved to play NBA.I am waiting for this on my i-Phone.

    r4 ds — 11:54 PM on November 9, 2009 Reply

  • Is there a way to connect iPhone to a home PC to watch League Pass via iPhone on the larger computer screen?

    brentwistrom — 10:07 AM on November 19, 2009 Reply

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