New York (AFP)
The NBA now offers its own subscription-streaming channel with live matches, the North American professional basketball championship announced Tuesday, a first for a leading sports league.
The NBA TV channel has been in existence since 1999 and was until now available through a broadcaster, both cable and channel packages available directly over the internet (Sling, YouTube TV).
By making it available independently in the US, for $ 6.99 a month or $ 59.99 a year, the NBA bypasses even more traditional broadcasters, be they channels or operators.
The league was already streaming the League Pass, a video service that allows you to watch all NBA games live in most countries around the world.
But this platform was more for enthusiasts, with a fairly high price of $ 28.99 a month or $ 199 for the US season.
By launching NBA TV online, the league is raking a lot wider, with an affordable price and the ability to see more than 100 matches per season live.
For now, the official broadcasters of the NBA in the United States, namely ABC, ESPN and TNT, do not offer, for now, independent streaming service that would allow to see live matches.
These three channels, however, pay the NBA $ 2.66 billion a year in TV rights to broadcast games of the championship on cable, and in wireless for ABC.
These rights contracts could however evolve with the generalization of streaming.
In the United States, the NFL (American football, The NFL Network) and the NHL (hockey, NHL Network) have their own channel but require a subscription to a conventional operator and, in addition, do not broadcast live matches.
As for the Champions League or the English Premier League, they are available via streaming offers in certain countries via third-party platforms (B / R Live in the United States or DAZN in Canada), but which do not directly depend on these leagues .
© 2019 AFP