Warning: This article was written in 2013, the content might be out of date.
NBA League Pass is Not Cord Cutting
Categories: General
The NBA 2013-14 season has just started. There are many story lines in the NBA such as can Miami Heat get their third NBA championship, can Kobe Bryant returns to the NBA after a serious injury, or the return of Derrick Rose. These stories will make people to watch when these teams and players take on the court.
One way to watch the NBA is through local televise TV, ESPN, TNT, or NBA TV. These channels televise local teams or the teams that the channels chooses. The NBA introduces another way to watch NBA games if fans want more. It is through the NBA League Pass.
The NBA League Pass allows NBA fans to watch NBA games on TV, online, or on their mobile devices. It sounds great for NBA fans because you can watch any game any time, however, the restriction of the league pass makes it very unattractive to sign up for.
At the beginning of the season until November 5, the NBA allows free access to their league pass. I will just use these days for analysis.
First, let's take a look at the rules of league pass black out, meaning you cannot watch these games online or your mobile devices.
- National televise games
- Local team(s) game.
National televise games means if the games are on national TV. In this season, it will be ABC, ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV.
Local teams means the team is playing in your city or surrounding city. That means if you lives in Chicago, there is no Chicago Bulls coverage on your NBA league pass.
Let's take a look at the first 3 days.
10/29:
ORL vs IND
CHI vs MIA
LAC vs LAL
None of these games can be watched on league pass because they are all nationally televised.
10/30:
BKN vs CLE
MIA vs PHI
BOS vs TOR
WAS vs DET
MIL vs NYK
CHA vs HOU
ORL vs MIN
IND vs NOP
ATL vs DAL
MEM vs SAS
OKC vs UTA
POR vs PHX
DEN vs SAC
LAL vs GSW
OK, there is a lot of games to watch. We will stick with the games that most people want to watch because both teams had winning records and in the playoff last season.
MEM vs SAS - YES
LAL vs GSW - No because it is on NBA TV
Therefore, only 1 game is worth to watch.
10/31:
NYK vs CHI
GSW vs LAC
None, all the games are on TNT.
11/1:
CLE vs CHA
NOP vs ORL
PHI vs WAS
TOR vs ATL
MIL vs BOS
DAL vs HOU
DET vs MEM
OKC vs MIN
MIA vs BKN
POR vs DEN
UTA vs PHX
LAC vs SAC
SAS vs LAL
Another night with a lot of games to watch. Let's see what's good on the league pass.
OKC vs MIN, yes.
MIA vs BKN, no because it is on ESPN
SAS vs LAL, no because it is on ESPN
Again, only 1 game is worth to watch.
Fans most likely support their local team(s). If these fans do not have access to cable television, they cannot watch anywhere.
As the NBA is getting more and more popular and faster style of play, the NBA can capture more younger audience who most likely prefer to watch the NBA games on their personal devices. I am hoping that NBA league pass will change their blackout restriction policy and more games to display through their league pass.
The league pass improved this season by allowing national games plays via archive. However, sports is more fun when it is live.