The NBA yesterday released U.S.-based pricing for its previously announced plan to offer single-team and single-game options for its League Pass out-of-market package. A full season of League Pass with every team's games will cost $199.99, and cover most linear and digital platforms. That core offering will now be joined by a team pass that will cover an individual team's schedule for $119.99, as well as a single-game option costing $6.99. The new structure advances the a la carte options within League Pass beyond a prior offering in which a five-team package could be viewed online for a reduced price. League Pass will remain subject to customary blackout policies, meaning a fan must live outside of a team's primary market to view the games through the package. Fans can purchase NBA League Pass subscriptions beginning Sept. 8 (
Eric Fisher, Staff Writer). On Long Island, Neil Best notes the move "carries with it the risk that some fans who might otherwise have bought the full package will opt for one of the more limited options." But NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that the league "had no choice but to adapt." Silver: "It's the first time we're selling individual games and in fact it may cannibalize the overall package, but ultimately the consumers dictate. Our fans are going to tell us what the appropriate price is, and even if it does cannibalize to a certain degree, the most important thing is to satisfy the fans of the game." Silver said that the current options "are enough for now." Silver: "Ultimately it gets too confusing for consumers, especially at that price point, for $6.99, I don't think it's worth having that many more options" (
NEWSDAY, 7/23).
PRICE POINT: In Minneapolis, Michael Rand wrote the option to purchase single games is "beautiful." Rand: "Let’s say you’re a casual Wolves fan living in Utah with a night to kill." That fan can "blow 7 bucks on a pay-per-view movie" or can watch No. 1 overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns and the rest of the team play. However, the $6.99 price point "seems a little high." Rand: "I’m sure it was arrived at in some meaningful way, and maybe in the grand scheme of things a fan who is willing to pay, say, $4.99 is also willing to go the extra couple of bucks higher" (STARTRIBUNE.com, 7/22). But ESPN’s Max Kellerman said the option to buy single games "doesn’t make sense." He said, "You see all your local market games anyway. You see all the nationally televised games. Even if you want to watch a half a dozen special games, just get the League Pass” (“SportsNation,” ESPN2, 7/22).
