The NBA announced prices for its popular League Pass product on Tuesday: $169 for the full season. (League Pass allows you to watch just about every game that isn’t on national TV, NBA TV or subject to local blackout.) Last year, fans could get the TV package and complimentary broadband access for $189, with an additional $40 charge for mobile access.
Don’t Expect A Break On NBA League Pass
Of course, last season was, uh, a full season.
This one has been shrunk by 16 games per team, or about five weeks. Last year, without accounting for a couple of free previews the league did, fans paid about $8.21 per week for the TV and broadband combo. This season, fans will pay $10 per week.
Of course, the league gets around this by bundling the mobile service -- the quite unpopular mobile service, according to reaction on Twitter from the diehards last year -- into the TV and broadband price. For fans who would have bundled all three options, the price is $10 per week, same as it would have been last season. But most subscribers won’t use the mobile option, and would sign up for a TV option without it to save some money. They won’t be able to this season.
This isn’t some great miscarriage of justice: if you’re spending money to access more games than are available on national TV and local broadcasts, you’re accessing a niche service that isn’t anything like a God-given right. But this was a very straightforward opportunity for the NBA to make a goodwill gesture toward the most loyal fans it has, and instead of throwing a bone out, the NBA prioritized profits. That’s the league’s right and I’ll be right there chipping in my buck-seventy like so many others. But it’s disappointing nonetheless.
See More:
