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YinzCam is working to relaunch 22 NBA team apps on a common platform.
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Editor's note: This story is revised from the print edition.
The NBA has struck a multiyear partnership with mobile application developer YinzCam in which the league will also take an undisclosed equity stake in the Pittsburgh-based company.
YinzCam will be an official team app developer and arena mobile app developer for the NBA. The company is collaborating with the league to relaunch 22 team apps for the 2015-16 season on a common platform that individual teams can opt into. YinzCam will also create official apps for the NBA D-League and for Jr. NBA, the league’s youth outreach and basketball participation initiative.
The NFL has held a minority equity stake in YinzCam since 2010 as part of a deal that gives the company in-stadium mobile video rights with the league. YinzCam began as a research project at Carnegie Mellon University.
A key part of the NBA’s alignment with YinzCam will be creating team apps that automatically adjust themselves based on a user’s location. If a fan is in arena, the apps will present venue-based material such as seat-upgrade offers and concession information, while those using the
apps outside an arena will see a more media- and content-driven experience.
“We have seen the number of our teams working with YinzCam grow dramatically, so it made a lot of sense to have a more formalized relationship,” said Mike Allen, NBA senior vice president of digital products and emerging technology. “We believe this will really accelerate advances and best practices in this space by essentially crowdsourcing product development.”
NBA and YinzCam declined to specify the financial terms of the partnership, but several industry sources said the league acquired the equity position. The NBA over the past several years has acquired equity stakes in several other technology and media partners, including daily fantasy sports giant FanDuel.
Similar to how NBA team websites operate, the franchises opting into the YinzCam mobile platform will share common technology but retain wide options on elements such as design and look.
The new NBA team apps will also include a full integration with Twitter Fabric, the social media company’s mobile development platform for incorporating Twitter feeds, and direct access to live game streaming either through authenticated in-market feeds or the NBA League Pass out-of-market product.
YinzCam late last year struck a large-scale mobile development deal with Learfield Sports, giving it a major entry point into the collegiate market, and the company is now working with more than three dozen schools.
“These last of couple of deals, on top of what we’ve been doing with the NFL, really have changed who we are and have really pushed us to keep innovating,” said Priya Narasimhan, YinzCam founder and chief executive. “It’s a very exciting time.”
