New Season at NBA Digital Focuses on Mobile, Original Content

Ready for a bit of ’90s nostalgia on that futuristic mobile device?

Content is king this year at NBA Digital as the league’s multimedia arm welcomes the new season with a robust collection of original programming for NBA TV, NBA.com, and the NBA’s redesigned mobile app, NBA Game Time.

NBA Digital launched a redesigned version of the league’s signature mobile app, NBA Game Time.

Highlighting the schedule is the return of the iconic features program, NBA Inside Stuff — which returned to the airwaves this past Saturday after an eight-year hiatus — and a rundown of platform-versatile shows like Open Court, Fan Night, and The Starters.

“We’re really looking to create true transmedia content, everything from broadcast to blog,” says Christina Miller, SVG/GM, NBA Digital. “We have all of these great platforms, and it’s about putting unique content on there to elevate them.”

NBA Digital is placing a strong emphasis on mobile content in 2013-14, beginning with the revamping of the league’s centerpiece mobile app, NBA Game Time.

The new-look NBA Game Time features enhanced navigation and more-robust content features, including game recaps and video highlights for every game, enriched player and team stats, and in-depth team roster information.

Additionally, fans who already subscribe to the league’s live-game product will have access to NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband on an authenticated basis.

“We’re all reading the same set of statistics [on mobile],” says Miller. “Having command of such a young-male audience, you’re going to go there first. Truly, they are the ones that are moving the market, and we’re really moving with them by making sure that our content travels, almost platform-agnostic in that standpoint.”

NBA LEAGUE PASS has several new features, including live feeds of both home and away team broadcasts for all games and an archive of full games.

NBA Digital is looking to ride the momentum of a successful 2012-13 campaign, which saw the debut of a multifaceted studio set for NBA TV and NBA.com at the Turner Studios campus in Atlanta and a new wave of league and team desktop and mobile Websites.

Those redesigns and much of NBA Digital’s programming also put a strong spotlight on social-media integration. Whether it was aggregating social-media content within the app or using social-media content to program conversations on various programs, the NBA has earned its rep as one of the most socially connected pro sports leagues.

“In sports, social has always been important,” says Miller. “I think Turner embraces change and innovation very well, so we never really had to convince anyone [of its importance]. Tweeting and posting is not enough alone. It’s about the visualization of it and the complete integration. That’s where we need to go, whether it’s crowd-sourcing for content, which we did with Open Court, or some of the features that happen in Inside the NBA. Pick it, program it, talk about it. Those are the experiences we want to create as opposed to social for social’s sake.”