The National Basketball Association and Turner Broadcasting, who own TBS and TNT, announced on Thursday that fans will now, for the first time ever, be able to purchase the remainder of any out-of-market game on League Pass once the 3rd quarter of a given NBA game officially ends, according to ESPN’s Darren Rovell.
“It’s a big moment, but it’s also a small first step,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said on Thursday (h/t ESPN). “There are limitations in the technology right now, but we’re working as quickly as possible so that, at some point in the near future, fans can choose to buy any part of any game.”
“We imagine a situation where a fan has dinner at 8 o’clock and only has 30 minutes and can choose to buy a half-hour of a game,” Silver said.
The price for a full game, which can be streamed via Turner’s B/R Live, NBA.com or on the NBA app, will still come with a price tag of $6.99. For fans who want the entire season of NBA League Pass, it will cost $200 and will also come with the option of an in-arena add-on for another $50.
If you’re a fan of a specific team and only have interest in watching that team, you can have the option of League Pass for that team for $120 for the season, or $18 per month.
This development should be a roaring success, as it allows fans who may not be able to justify a $200 expense, and only have an interest in one team, to jump in at a much more affordable season-long price and monthly charge.
Additionally, with the popularity of streaming booming due, in large part, to Twitch Streams, sports leagues like the National Basketball Association, as well as media giants such as Turner Broadcasting, are seeing the importance in diversifying their stream offerings to make it both more affordable, and more personalized.