NBA Mobile Moves to a Freemium Strategy

Last year, the NBA had separate mobile apps, depending on whether a user wanted free content, like scores and stats, or wanted to pay for special features like short-form content or the ability to stream games. Now the basketball organization is collapsing all of those into a single app. The freemium model, NBA GM and SVP for digital Bryan Perez told GigaOm’s New TeeVee Live today, makes more sense.

“It’s easier for the customer to understand,” Perez said. From the business’s perspective, “you’re always marketing your upsell to the widest possible base. And it’s easier to manage from a developer standpoint.”

On this year’s Game Point app, which is available on iOS, Android, and Blackberry devices, users can still get stats and scores and follow their favorite teams for free. But if they want to watch highlights or stream games, they have to pay to unlock that content.

For more on how the NBA is using new media, see "NBA Effectively Utilizes Social Media to Connect With Fans" from the November issue of the magazine.