The NBA hopes to get fans to spend longer periods of time with their favorite sport by using its mobile app to fill in the gaps between game watching.
Fans will have the ability to add multiple team and player tabs to their app main screen, giving them access to a greater array of breaking news, trending topics, vertical video highlights and updates related to their favorite teams and players. A new “Moments” experience will allow fans to scroll through unlimited NBA content using a vertical social media-style interface that is not too far away from the format utilized by Tik Tok or various social-media reels or stories.
“We believe that this social presentation of content will really be a big driver of engagement,” says Sarah Crennan, the NBA’s head of direct-to-consumer content, in an interview.
The NBA App will feature more than 10,000 additional hours of programming to entertain fans, including “NBA CrunchTime,” the league’s weekly whiparound show; “Race for the NBA Cup,” which gives fans access to the inaugural in-season tournament’; and “Coaches Corner,” which features NBA coaches breaking down plays and offering analysis. A new daily newsletter, “Starting 5,” will feature current and former NBA players and coaches as contributors.
“We want to get you weekly and want to get you daily and we want you to come back multiple times per day,” says Crennan. “These new features really underscore our goal.”
