For unpaid users, NBA Game Time is an ad-supported free download offering live scores, stats, schedules, news and video for all 30 NBA teams. Game recaps and post-game highlight reels are also free. A $9.99 upgrade gets fans home and away live radio broadcasts, full and condensed game video recaps, and an ad-free experience. Sprint customers get this upgrade at no charge, along with a discount on NBA League Pass Mobile. For $149 or five payments of $33 ($165), non-Sprint subscribers can opt to watch up to five teams on NBA League Pass on digital platforms only. The mobile-only season subscription offered at $49.99 last season has been eliminated. Unlimited access to live games for all 30 teams across all platforms, including TV via NBA League Pass, is offered for $199. Activating League Pass on the iPhone requires a simple user ID and password log-in. NBA Game Time was developed by NBA Digital and Turner Sports. This week's review was conducted on an iPhone 5 version 8.1.1, with AT&T LTE service.
SLAM DUNKS: The free app offers a significant package of game recap and highlight clips including Dunk of the Night, Top Ten and Daily Zap. An upgraded ticketing integration offers in-app purchasing for each NBA team. Ticketing touch points are made available both in the app’s Schedule section and within the ticketing menu item. Live audio is presented in an impressive grid layout where users can tap from feed to feed with ease. In-stream features including a league-wide schedule with live scores and stats by team are still offered with a minor adjustment to the graphics. Highlights of key plays are populated during games as is a Twitter-driven Game Pulse. This was particularly exciting during last night's Cavs-Nets game at Barclays Center, where Prince William and the Duchess, Kate Middleton, made an appearance. Excitement alerts continue to drive engagement both inside and outside the app. New for '14-15 is a feature called TNT Overtime offering alternate camera angles during TNT Thursday night broadcasts. Social integrations remain status quo, with several Twitter touch points both at the league and team level. In-app access to the NBA shop via a user-friendly mobile site has been added, and the flow of the Schedule section has been improved, offering a league view and a team view that can easily be toggled between teams.
AIR BALLS: The app separates video from the main news feeds, forcing users to find it elsewhere. This is a surprising change that feels a bit backward. Also, the app’s subscription options could be presented in a clearer fashion. There is no direct path to upgrade to Game Time Plus. Users must tap on NBA League Pass to find the subscription options, and more detail on what each subscription level provides would be a welcome addition. A promotional advertisement for NBA League Pass lives on the app’s home screen regardless of whether the user has subscribed. While there are many avenues to Twitter, there are very few ways to share content items to social networks, via e-mail or text.
BOTTOM LINE: For '14-15, the NBA offers a relatively unchanged freemium product with revised subscription options. Add-ons like an improved ticketing integration and a multi-camera feature with TNT Overtime have been introduced, but other features have remained stagnant. The app still deserves three stars, but with other leagues offering more for free (see NHL GameCenter’s free in-game highlights), the app faces fierce competition. Users on iTunes give NBA Game Time two stars, citing audio issues and other technical problems that were not observed during this review.
Amie Sheridan (amie.sheridan31@gmail.com) is a freelance writer in Philadelphia.
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