NBC Sports Regional Networks’ Live Streaming Establishes Strong Gains Across Key Metrics

NBC Sports Regional Networks and six of its National Basketball Association team partners tipped off the 2014-15 regular season with the introduction of live streaming of games, as well as pre- and post-game shows.  Through the first three months of this new service, subscribers of NBC Sports Regional Networks, branded Comcast SportsNet within their local markets, are increasingly taking advantage of the newfound ability to watch their teams both in and out of the home on their computers, tablets and smart phones.

According to figures captured by Adobe Analytics, the increase in minutes watched across Comcast SportsNet’s live NBA streams has jumped more than 122% since launch, posting 3.1 million cumulative minutes watched in November, 4.6 million in December, and 6.9 million in January.

NBC Sports Regional Networks’ implementation of “TV Everywhere” is available at no additional cost to subscribers of Comcast SportsNet and is currently being offered through agreements reached with 11 pay television providers, including DirecTV, Comcast, Dish, Verizon, Time Warner Cable and AT&T.  In addition to total minutes watched, the service is enjoying strong growth trajectories across other key metrics.  The cumulative number of live starts has also surged, posting 133,000 in November, increasing +32% in December with 175,000, followed by a +42% rise in January with more than 247,000 live starts.  In terms of total visits to the new streaming service, the monthly total has nearly doubled since launch, with 81,000 in November and more than 158,000 total visits in January.

“We are pleased with these early adoption figures and encouraged by the positive trends surrounding this significant value add for our viewers and distribution partners,” says Jon Litner, Group President of NBC Sports Group. “Live sports is among the most compelling content available, and our implementation of TV Everywhere provides subscribers with our award-winning coverage—live and in HD—no matter where they are and on whichever device they choose.  We’d like to commend the NBA for working with us to bring this product to basketball fans and advancing this important movement.”

Comcast SportsNet’s rollout of TV Everywhere allows authenticated viewers to stream live games and related coverage of the Boston Celtics, Philadelphia 76ers, Washington Wizards, Chicago Bulls, Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors.  In total, more than 440 NBA games will be made available for streaming throughout the 2014-15 season.  Through the first three months, Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, Comcast SportsNet Chicago and Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic have posted standout metrics, each drawing Total Visits, Minutes Watched and Live Starts figures in January that more than double those recorded in November.

To access the live streams, subscribers can visit the website of their local Comcast SportsNet regional network (individual websites are listed below) on their PC, or download the NBC Sports Live Extra app for smart phones and tablets at the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play. Authenticated Comcast SportsNet subscribers have the ability to access NBA games and related shows even when traveling outside of their region, provided they are within the United States.