Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Sees D2C Play as a Key League Initiative

21/10/2021

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Sees D2C Play as a Key League Initiative By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director

Thursday, October 21, 2021 - 10:37 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver laid out a vision for league production and distribution at the SportsBusiness Journal's World Congress of Sports that will see the league engage with fans in new ways and, most importantly, on new devices and services.

Probably the biggest issue for us right now is we are a sport that's heavily on cable which has had enormous amount of disconnects over the last decade, he said. Something like 20 percent fewer homes receive cable, but it's much worse than that and is closer to something like 30% fewer viewers because many people are just using broadcast or cable connection to get broadband.

Part of that transition will also require a change in how events are produced as the goal will be to offer more personalization something that has been lacking to date due to the functionality limits on cable set-top boxes.

High definition has changed everything but other than that, it's still essentially a standard broadcast, says Silver. And part of the limitation was of course technology. It wasn't that the great broadcasters and distributors out there didn't want to change it, but they were locked in. And I think as we now move to more of a direct to consumer model what will come with that is personalization and customization.

Part of the urgency is because fans in the coveted 18-34 demo are especially disengaged from relying on a cable set-top box to get their content. Instead, they are leaning into streaming services.

You could argue that the bundle is just being recreated through these streaming services, he said. But putting that aside, I think at least for now, clearly the bundle is broken.

What is the solution? Silver said that as the NBA moves into the direct to consumer market, they would very much like to have their digital rights.

My long-term view is that we need to be in the direct to consumer business, he said. Exactly how it manifests itself I'm not sure and it may be that in certain cases we're part of multi-sport offerings. In other cases, it may be an NBA standalone [service] as we have now with our League Pass product.

It seems pretty clear that's the direction and I think that's what our fans are going to demand, says Silver. They want deeper, richer, more personalized content, and we have to respond to the market.

The great news for everybody, he added, is that people of all ages are devoting more time than ever to watching a screen.

They're watching streaming services and whatever they can watch on their phone, he said. We're a little bit caught in the switches right now and we'll work through that with our partners. And I think that where we end up will be a much better place. But we're going to have to work through that transition.

Helping in those personalization efforts will be the use of smartphones and other devices that offer new ways to tell stories.

We're learning how to produce events in a very different way, much less expensively, much more intimately, says Silver. What we'll see now in the sports industry is people rethinking how they can create some incredible content. In some cases, it's using iPhones or smartphones so intimacy can come through. There's a huge desire and demand for deeper content from our players and from the activities around the league. I think it's going to take us in a whole new place, especially as we move to more, to a direct to consumer relationship.

Silver also discussed sports gambling and its ability to also drive fan engagement. The biggest issue is that without federal oversight of sports gambling anyone looking to get serious about it on a national level quickly will find themselves dealing with dozens of entities.

Roughly 30 states have some form of legalized sports betting and if you are a content creator provider like we are you're dealing with 30 different jurisdictions which is a bit of a trap sometimes, he said. You can have somewhat of a race to the bottom where no jurisdiction wants to be overly restricted or too heavily regulated because then people go elsewhere. You see that a little bit in DC, we're its more regulated than in Virginia. So, I do think there should be national framework here. I don't think it's on the top of anybody's agenda in Congress right now, but I think we would be better off in a few years to legalize sports betting.

He points to how European soccer leagues which have made the transition from betting parlors to online gambling which offers safeguards against irregularities and corruption.

Online people have to identify themselves and they're using credit cards, he says. And just like with insider trading, computers are highly sophisticated and if they're detecting irregular activity the flags go off and they can tell leagues or other governing bodies. There's a lot of bad that could happen from this but, on balance, you can't turn the clock back. I think we're a lot better off with a regulated, transparent framework.

All of the efforts around personalization, gambling, and next-gen services are focused on one thing: making sure NBA fans are more connected than ever.

[All the leagues] need to focus on this in our own way but we really need to find ways to make sure that coming generations of fans aren't just fantasy fans or fans looking at highlights or what our players are doing off the court, he said. We want them to make an appointment to say there is a game on tonight at nine o'clock and I want to be part of that experience.
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2021/10/21/nba-commissioner-adam-silver-se...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

03/04/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Techex

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

TelevisaUnivision Signs New Nielsen Media Intelligence Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

The WNET Group, JIB Launch NHK World-Japan in New York

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

NAB Leadership Foundation Welcomes New Board Members

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

EverPass Media Expands Distribution Deal with Netflix

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

Versant Acquires AI-Data Platform StockStory

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

CVP Grows European Footprint with Strategic Expansion in...

CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, today announces the launch of its new German operation and the formati...

03/04/2026

MRMC Announces Appointment of Chief Operating Officer

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) today announces the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership as the company conti...

03/04/2026

Net Insight Introduces Programmable Trust Boundaries for...

Net Insight introduces programmable Trust Boundaries that make live media interconnection predictable as traffic moves between facilities, networks and cloud en...

03/04/2026

Winning in the new media economy: Avid showcases AI-powered, connected intelligence to unlock media value at NAB Show 2026

Winning in the new media economy: Avid showcases AI-powered, connected intellige...

03/04/2026

NUGEN Audio CEO Dr. Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About Dialog Intelligibility and Loudness at NAB 2026

NUGEN Audio CEO Dr. Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About Dialog Intelligibilit...

03/04/2026

NAB Show 2026: PlayBox Neo Highlights Workflow, Security, and IP Advances

NAB Show 2026: PlayBox Neo Highlights Workflow, Security, and IP Advances Brie Clayton April 2, 2026 0 Comments PlayBox Neo will showcase the latest i...

03/04/2026

For Taku Hirano, Everything Is Connected

For Taku Hirano, Everything Is Connected From touring and composition to teaching and instrument design, the in-demand percussionist sees it all as one body o...

03/04/2026

Berklee Honors Humberto Ramirez with Master of Latin Music Award

Berklee Honors Humberto Ramirez with Master of Latin Music Award The alumnus and acclaimed trumpeter is honored for his influence as a performer, composer, an...

02/04/2026

HBO and NFL Films Announce Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks, Debuting August 11

HBO and NFL Films have announced Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Sea...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Unveils Makito ONE Video Transport Platform

Haivision has announced the Makito ONE, a single-blade video encoding and decoding platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform combines dual-channel video encoding...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Introduces UP.Lens Cloud-Based Multiviewer and Monitoring Service

Telestream has introduced UP.Lens, a cloud-based multiviewer and monitoring serv...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: MRMC to Showcase Robotic Camera Technology and Mark 60th Anniversary

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5220, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), marking the company's 60th anniver...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight Introduces Programmable Trust Boundaries for Live Media Interconnection

Net Insight has introduced programmable Trust Boundaries, a feature integrated i...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Bitmovin Adds SGAI Support to Playback Products

Bitmovin has announced support for SGAI (Server-Guided Ad Insertion) in its playback products, using HLS interstitials. SGAI combines elements of client-side an...

02/04/2026

Binghamton University Athletics Adds Riedel SimplyLive RiMotion R12 for Student-Run Productions

Riedel Communications' SimplyLive RiMotion R12 replay system is supporting B...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: LTN and Ateme Announce Integration of Video Processing with IP Transport

LTN, a managed IP video transport company, and Ateme, a video compression and de...

02/04/2026

TDF Expands Channel Capacity on Terrestrial Broadcast Network with Harmonic

Harmonic has announced that TDF, a broadcast infrastructure operator in France, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor and ProStream X Video S...

02/04/2026

United Rugby Championship Reports First-Year Results with Eluvio Streaming Platform

Eluvio and the United Rugby Championship (URC) have announced first-year results...

02/04/2026

Kansas City Current and Scripps Sports Announce ION as Broadcast Home of 2026 Teal Rising Cup

The Kansas City Current and Scripps Sports have announced that ION will broadcas...

02/04/2026

ESPN Announces Courtside Alt-Cast for Women's Final Four

ESPN will debut Courtside at the Women's Final Four Presented by AT&T, an alt-cast airing Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and Sunday, A...

02/04/2026

PAMA and Shure Accept Applications for 6th Annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Scholarship

The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are ...

02/04/2026

ESPN's MegaCast Coverage of 2026 NCAA Women's Final Four Begins Friday, April 3 in Phoenix

ESPN's MegaCast Coverage of 2026 NCAA Women's Final Four Begins Friday, ...

02/04/2026

DAZN Launches Playmakers Creator Program

DAZN has announced the launch of DAZN Playmakers, a global influencer program designed to build a network of sports content creators. The programme will give cr...

02/04/2026

NFL Network Unveils New Production Ops Leadership Structure as ESPN Takes Over

Tony Cole, Jessica Lee shift into new roles reporting to ESPN SVP/Content Operations Chris Calcinari....

02/04/2026

TNT Sports and CBS Sports to Reunite Michigan's Iconic Fab Five for Special NCAA Men's Final Four Altcast on truTV & HBO Max

Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...

02/04/2026

Coming of Age: ESPN and NHL's Inside Out Classic Marks Another Step Forward for the Animated Alternative Broadcast

Real-time tracking, virtual production, and Pixar storytelling converge for Apri...

02/04/2026

Streaming Around the Moon: NASA+ Goes Live From Historic Artemis II Mission

NASA's long-awaited Artemis II mission has launched four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon, marking the first manned launch toward the moon sin...

02/04/2026

Release Rundown: What to Watch in April, From Bunnylovr to Omaha

(L-R) Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, and John Magaro appear in Omaha by Cole Webley, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courte...

02/04/2026

VEMIA Auction incoming

4 - 11 April 2026 VEMIA's latest gear auction is just around the corner, and there's already a wealth of sought-after instruments and studio gear li...

02/04/2026

Universal Audio's Voice Of God now native

Little Labs emulation now available to all The latest Universal Audio plug-in to become available outside of the company's DSP-powered UAD2 platform has...

02/04/2026

SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever

SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever 2 April, 2026 Media releases Santo Cilauro, Ed Kavalee and a host of special guests retur...

02/04/2026

Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return to Lead the National Conversation

Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return t...

02/04/2026

L3Harris Powers First Crewed Mission Around the Moon in 50 Years

L3Harris has successfully powered the historic launch of the Artemis II mission, providing propulsion and avionics....

02/04/2026

Scripps Completes Sale of WRTV to Circle City Broadcasting

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

02/04/2026

GoVertical! AiDi Powers Real-Time 9:16 Autocropping for I...

Already deployed extensively by NBC Sports, FOR-A Corporation will demonstrate GoVertical! AiDi, the real-time 9:16 autocropping feature of viztrick AiDi, durin...

02/04/2026

Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems BATON Fi...

Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its B...

02/04/2026

TDF Expands Broadcast Channel Lineup with Harmonic

Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that TDF, a...

02/04/2026

FOR-A's Software-Defined, AI-Powered Development Advances...

NBC Sports Deploys viztrick AiDi to Stream Live Events in 9:16 Mobile-First Formats with Auto Tracking, Development Signals Strategic Shift for FOR-A Long reco...

02/04/2026

Evergent showcases innovations in sports streaming and mo...

Evergent will showcase new innovations in subscriber lifecycle management and monetization at NAB Show 2026 (Las Vegas, April 18 22), including: New advances i...

02/04/2026

Binghamton University Strengthens Student Run Productions...

Riedel Communications is proud to be part of Binghamton University, State University of New York, Athletics' milestone year, celebrating the university'...