Turner Sports Launches Streaming NBA App

Written by Ryan Lawler

Thursday, October 29. 2009 at 05:45 PM EDT Post a comment

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Turner Sports continues to aggressively push its strategy of providing multi-platform coverage of live sports, with the release of new applications that will give NBA fans access to scores and streaming video of live NBA matchups.

The company's new NBA League Pass Mobile, which is now available for Apple iPhone and Google Android devices, gives users access to live streaming video of more than 40 live games per week. The $39.99 application also offers video replays and highlights of previously played games.

Turner has also released a $9.99 app for iPhone, Android, and Blackberry users called NBA Game Time. The app offers up live audio, previews and summaries, and detailed statistics from each NBA game, and enables push notifications for teams and games that users want to keep track of.

At $39.99, League Pass Mobile is priced well below the $150 that Turner Sports typically charges for its NBA League Pass Broadband service. (That service is currently available for $134.95 as part of an "early season discount.") But it's also priced well above $9.99, which is considered by many to be the top range that users will pay, even for premium applications.

Bryan Perez, senior vice president and general manager for NBA Digital, says the company put a lot of thought into pricing the application for the smartphone market.

"It's important for us to get our content in front of as many fans as possible," says Perez says. "We definitely look at the price points of our other products. It was important to us to determine a price point that would reflect the value of the content, but would also get as much acceptance as possible."

Media companies and sports leagues have have been pushing the envelope with new technology available to them, driving revenues for live sports events by building multi-platform experiences for sports fans.

Major League Baseball has used streaming video for years as an additional revenue stream, and expanded live streaming to mobile devices earlier this year with its iPhone app. Turner Sports has also been aggressive in promoting live sports on multiple platforms and devices, such as live streaming coverage of the PGA online and on mobile devices.

"Sports leagues have always led the innovation and trials on new platforms and new technology," Perez says. "Sports are about the moment, which not only lessens piracy issues and time-shifting issues, but also allows you to be more aggressive and innovative on how you distribute content."