NBA Changes League Pass to Allow Fans To Purchase Portions of Games.

[Hoop Head]

Thought this was worth it's own thread since there are a number of non-AZ fans here. The NBA is going to start selling partial games this season. You buy the 4th quarter alone for $1.99 and that's how this plan will start. They hope to expand on it more as the season progresses but they'll have the option to purchase the 4th quarter alone early on. This will be a better option for some than going with the full League Pass purchase. I think the Suns will be worth watching more than they have been in years past but this is still a good option, IMO. This way if the Suns are getting clobbered you can skip it but if it's close at the beginning of the 4th, you can buy the rest to watch live. I'll probably find myself buying some games for other teams throughout the season if there is something big happening in them. This would have been ideal a few years back when Kobe scored 81 points against Toronto or when Booker put up 70. You see the web alerts or the ticket on Sportscenter when something like that happens but now you can actually tune in and catch the rest of the game, it seems.


There are more details in the article...

http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/24811436/fans-purchase-4th-quarter-nba-games-league-pass

 

[AzStevenCal]

Initial reaction. Yuck.

 

[Yuma]

My Father in law would love this. I never went to his house with Suns games on. He would only watch the last two minutes of a basketball game. His philosophy is it all happened in the last two minutes anyway.

 

[AzStevenCal]

My Father in law would love this. I never went to his house with Suns games on. He would only watch the last two minutes of a basketball game. His philosophy is it all happened in the last two minutes anyway.

This is just so foreign to me. I love watching basketball. I hated that slow down era in the 90's but for the most part, I've always enjoyed watching the game. I watch "my team" play baseball, I watch my team play football but I can watch any teams play basketball. And I don't think I even enjoy the 4th quarter more than the other 3.

 

[Yuma]

This is just so foreign to me. I love watching basketball. I hated that slow down era in the 90's but for the most part, I've always enjoyed watching the game. I watch "my team" play baseball, I watch my team play football but I can watch any teams play basketball. And I don't think I even enjoy the 4th quarter more than the other 3.

To me it's the journey in the game that makes those last two minutes. Without knowing how the teams got there, it just kinda feels hollow catching the last minutes of the game. I guess the only exception is if I missed the clinching game of us winning the NBA Championship and raced to the TV to catch the last two minutes, I would enjoy that!

 

[Hoop Head]

I like it. I don't know how much I'll utilize it but I can see a number of people giving it a shot. With the Suns there is typically a game thread where a few of us are talking about the game live and if someone outside of the Suns market is here and reading along in that thread they could choose to tune in at the end of the game to see how it plays out if it seems like the beginning of the game had been good, a player is going off, the game means something as far as a win getting us into the playoffs, etc. I know we're a year or two away from the playoffs so that won't be much an issue or thought this year but I definitely understand the appeal.

If I watch a good Suns game and want more basketball when it's over I could find another game that is close and watch the last quarter or 2nd half. There's also people who don't buy league pass because they don't have time to watch that many games and they don't think it'll be worthwhile. This allows them to catch some good matchups if they find themselves free to catch the remainder of a game.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

Can you buy single games? How much is a game?

 

[Hoop Head]

Can you buy single games? How much is a game?

Right now it says a full game is $6.99. It says team specific league pass is $120 for the season or $18 a month, so that will be better but a lot of people don't watch that often. The whole league pass where you get every game is $199. The only option available at the start of the season will be buying a full game or buying just the 4th quarter. They plan on having it so you can buy a game at some point while it's happening but that won't be available yet. It's also mentioned that if you buy the 4th quarter at the beginning of the quarter or for the last minute that you'll be charged the $1.99.

It doesn't say anything about overtime but I would imagine that's thrown in. That would be incredibly messed up if they tried charging you more because a game went into overtime.

 

[Chaplin]

Right now it says a full game is $6.99. It says team specific league pass is $120 for the season or $18 a month, so that will be better but a lot of people don't watch that often. The whole league pass where you get every game is $199. The only option available at the start of the season will be buying a full game or buying just the 4th quarter. They plan on having it so you can buy a game at some point while it's happening but that won't be available yet. It's also mentioned that if you buy the 4th quarter at the beginning of the quarter or for the last minute that you'll be charged the $1.99.

It doesn't say anything about overtime but I would imagine that's thrown in. That would be incredibly messed up if they tried charging you more because a game went into overtime.

That $120 isn't bad IMO. I'll be getting that for the Suns.

 

[Errntknght]

Yeah, $120 for the season isn't bad if you can record it. I can watch a recorded game in half the time it takes to watch it live and watch it when I want. I've never done much streaming, assuming that's how they provide it, so I don't know what to expect. It would be a pain to have do something to record each and every game for that matter.

 

[Chaplin]

Yeah, $120 for the season isn't bad if you can record it. I can watch a recorded game in half the time it takes to watch it live and watch it when I want. I've never done much streaming, assuming that's how they provide it, so I don't know what to expect. It would be a pain to have do something to record each and every game for that matter.

Huh? You don’t need to record it. Every game for your team is available to play after it airs.

 

[Errntknght]

Huh? You don’t need to record it. Every game for your team is available to play after it airs.

Thanks for the info Chap. Do you happen to know if you can jump forward as it plays to skip all the dead time - mostly adverts? I've gotten in the habit of recording every show I watch as I'm allergic to advertising.

 

[Chaplin]

Thanks for the info Chap. Do you happen to know if you can jump forward as it plays to skip all the dead time - mostly adverts? I've gotten in the habit of recording every show I watch as I'm allergic to advertising.

Now, that I DON’T know. I hope so, but if not, it’s a sacrifice I’m willing to make.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Thanks for the info Chap. Do you happen to know if you can jump forward as it plays to skip all the dead time - mostly adverts? I've gotten in the habit of recording every show I watch as I'm allergic to advertising.

I don't know how it works in state but this is what us out of market viewers get. They typically offer both team broadcasts and two versions of each game (some exceptions). One of the versions is a shortened video that removes all the dead time and unnecessary footage but personally I don't care for it, I find I need a little time to process what's happened. The other version can be fast forwarded or rewinded as you see fit if you're watching it after the fact. It won't let you break the time space continuum though.

 

[Errntknght]

I don't know how it works in state but this is what us out of market viewers get. They typically offer both team broadcasts and two versions of each game (some exceptions). One of the versions is a shortened video that removes all the dead time and unnecessary footage but personally I don't care for it, I find I need a little time to process what's happened. The other version can be fast forwarded or rewinded as you see fit if you're watching it after the fact. It won't let you break the time space continuum though.

To tell the truth that's a relief... who knows what perverted uses we'd put that to.