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 ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

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

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

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 ...

08/04/2026

Gen Alpha Leads Shift to AI-Powered Entertainment Search, Discovery and Recommendations

New Gracenote study finds behavioral change well underway, but trust in AI-gener...

08/04/2026

Media Links to Focus on IP Transport Solutions at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/04/2026

Telestream and Mimir Integration Facilitates Real-Time Pr...

Integration eliminates ingest bottlenecks by ensuring content is immediately usable across cloud and hybrid editorial workflows. See it at NAB 2026. Nevada Cit...

08/04/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia Bringing...

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the commercial availability of Dalia, its media-aware, agentic AI...

08/04/2026

Synamedia unveils Senza Ignite to transform deployed devi...

Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced Senza Ignite, a cloud-based platform that transforms existing connected devices through a single firmw...

08/04/2026

Appear works with Corus to transform national news contri...

Modernised architecture increases operational control and agility, while reducing cost and simplifying nationwide media transport across affiliates and news bur...

08/04/2026

LynTec to Showcase High Density Power Control Solutions f...

Company to Feature DMX Dual Relay, High-Density 48-Channel Relay Panels, and New Private Label Power Program LynTec, a leading manufacturer of innovative ele...

08/04/2026

BCE integrates BCNEXXT Vipe to power cloud playout in Med...

Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a European media technology and services partner, today announces a technology partnership with BCNEXXT, a Netherlands-based c...

08/04/2026

Encompass Strengthens Global Media Operations with Expans...

Encompass Digital Media today announced the expansion of its Master Control Room (MCR) facility in Riga, Latvia, establishing it as one of the most advanced and...

08/04/2026

Synamedia lights up Las Vegas with innovations that will...

Leading video solutions provider Synamedia is back at The 2026 NAB Show with innovations that connect tomorrows audiences today. On display will be a range of t...

08/04/2026

COW Jobs: Director Needed for WWII Indie Docudrama

COW Jobs: Director Needed for WWII Indie Docudrama Brie Clayton April 8, 2026 0 Comments Director Needed for WWII Indie Docudrama March 17, 2026COW ...

08/04/2026

ESPN Expands Global Reach on Disney+

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/04/2026

Broadcast Industry Initiatives Promise To Speed Adoption of ST 2110

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/04/2026

Remembering Television's Role in the U.S. Bicentennial

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/04/2026

Synamedia Unveils AI by Quortex

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/04/2026

Carrie Healey Joins NAB as Vice President of Communications

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/04/2026

Amagi Launches Newspulse

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/04/2026

Marshall Electronics Unveils CV376 NDI HX3 HDMI POV Camer...

Marshall Electronics introduces its latest POV camera with the new CV376 Compact NDI |HX3 HDMI POV Camera at NAB 2026 (Booth C8339). Designed for versatile 4K c...

08/04/2026

Zixi Showcases Interoperable Live Video Workflows and Sat...

Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, enables interoperable live video workflows across multi-vendor environments, helping broadcast...

08/04/2026

Kathryn Thomas questions if we can be Young Forever in new RT documentary

Young Forever: The Death of Ageing? airs Monday 13 April and 20 April on RT One and RT Player Around the world, the race to beat ageing is on. From cutting ...

08/04/2026

April 07, 2026

Scripps Research scientists uncover new mechanism cancer cells use to survive DNA damage Discovery reshapes understanding of how tumor cells repair broken DNA, ...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Ikegami USA To Launch Two New Viewfinders, Refine UHD Cameras

Ikegami USA will launch a refinement to the UHK-X700 and UHK-X750 3-CMOS -in. UHD cameras in the UNICAM XE series plus two new 7-in. viewfinders at NAB 2026 in...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: NAB Leadership Foundation to Host Technology Students Career Mixer

The NAB Leadership Foundation and NAB PILOT will host a career mixer for technology students at NAB Show 2026 on April 18, 5-6:30 p.m., North Hall, Room N225/22...

07/04/2026

Survey: AVoIP Adoption Accelerating, With Interoperability and Security as Key Drivers

Audinate Group Limited and Futuresource Consulting have published results from a...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Eluvio Announces Commercial Availability of Content Fabric Bucharest Release

Eluvio has announced the commercial availability of its Content Fabric Bucharest...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Eluvio Introduces Inline AI Video Intelligence and Updated EVIE

Eluvio has unveiled a new architecture for video AI and an updated Eluvio Video Intelligence Editor (EVIE) ahead of NAB Show 2026. Eluvio AI runs analysis and i...

07/04/2026

Professional Fighters League Partners With Sky New Zealand for Exclusive Broadcast Rights

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced a deal with Sky New Zealand...

07/04/2026

NBA, Enjoy Basketball' To Produce Live Game Altcast, Enjoy the NBA Trivia Show as Part of New Multi-Platform Collab

The NBA and Enjoy Basketball, the digital media company co-founded by YouTube cr...

07/04/2026

Beyond Golf: PGA of America, Ko-Mar Productions Offer Clients a Customizable Production Studio

The 4,000-sq.-ft. space in Frisco, TX, has produced live and packaged programmin...

07/04/2026

A New POV: RefCam's Rise in the Bundesliga Signals a Potential New Era for Soccer Broadcasts

What began as a referee training tool is evolving into a powerful production ass...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Manifold Technologies to Join NEP Platform as Deployable Application

Manifold Technologies will announce at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C.1808) that its manifold CLOUD platform will be available as a deployable application within NEP Pl...

07/04/2026

Shaquille O'Neal and TNT Sports to Launch DUNKMAN Professional Dunk League in Summer 2026

Shaquille O'Neal, Authentic Brands Group, and TNT Sports, in partnership wit...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance Unveils Omnia XII Audio Processor

Telos Alliance will debut the Omnia XII, a new FM/HD/DAB audio processor, at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas. Built on a 2RU hardware platform, Omnia XII features a...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: AWS to Showcase AI and Cloud Media Technologies

Amazon Web Services (AWS) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth W1701), with demonstrations, speaking sessions, and int...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Synamedia to Demonstrate AI by Quortex

Synamedia will demonstrate AI by Quortex at NAB Show 2026, a framework that applies AI capabilities to video workflows on demand rather than continuously. The s...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: TVNewsCheck Announces 2026 Women in Technology Award Honorees

TVNewsCheck will present its 15th annual Women in Technology Awards on Tuesday, April 21, at 5 p.m. PT at NAB Show, in the Media and Entertainment Theater (W146...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Akta to Showcase AI Video Platform

Akta will demonstrate its AI video platform at NAB Show 2026, highlighting new capabilities in media processing and vertical video formatting alongside its exis...

07/04/2026

ESPN Expands to Disney+ in Europe and Select Asia-Pacific Markets

ESPN and Disney have announced the launch of ESPN on Disney in Europe and select Asia-Pacific markets, bringing the offering to 53 countries and territories a...

07/04/2026

Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellows

LOS ANGELES, CA, April 7, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the fellows selected for the 2026 Native Lab, the signature initiative of the ...

07/04/2026

Prompted Playlist Levels Up to Include Podcasts, Helping You Explore More Interests and Curiosities

Starting today, Prompted Playlist is expanding beyond music to now include podca...

07/04/2026

VSL release Synchron Harpsichord (Blanchet)

Launched alongside piano promotion The latest instalment in VSL's Synchron Series line-up captures the sound of a faithful copy of a Fran ois tienne Bl...

07/04/2026

Roland announce SPD-SX Pro Version 2.0

Flagship sampling pad gets an update Roland's flagship sampling pad has just received a major update that kits it out with an array of new features and ...

07/04/2026

Sound Devices unveil the Astral Mini Plus

Popular compact wireless system upgraded Sound Devices have recently introduced a new and improved version of their compact wireless transmitter bodypacks, ...

07/04/2026

YEP November 2025 Newsletter

The November 2025 YEP Newsletter highlights a recent YEP Coffee Chat, offering members the chance to connect with industry professionals in an informal setting ...