Anthony Bennett’s first overall selection in the NBA Draft marked the first time ever a Canadian-born player earned that distinction.
Additionally, it is easy to imagine Andrew Wiggins holding that title a year from now after he did this at his first ever Kansas open practice.
Nevertheless, the Cleveland Cavaliers’ decision to select Bennett over the long-time presumed top pick Nerlens Noel, sparked numerous draft day surprises, including Hakeem The Dream Olajuwon’s cameo. These moments crossed over extremely well to NBA Digital’s draft upgrade. One couldn’t have been on Twitter without noticing two or more draft-related names as trending topics that night. The league’s online, social, and mobile strategies all came together and capitalized on the conversation. In fact, these second-screen options were funneled by the nearly 3 million TV viewership average and second-best ESPN broadcast of it, per Nielsen.
Now, less than a week later, free agency is in full swing; Kevin Martin has agreed to join the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Los Angeles Clippers dealt Eric Bledsoe to the Phoenix Suns. But NBA Digital and Turner Sports are not waiting on Dwight Howard’s decision to swiftly change course to the NBA Summer League. This summer event that showcases the latest rookie class has been held in Orlando and Las Vegas for quite some time. Last season, though, the Vegas segment that’s open to the public demonstrated exponential growth across the board.
According to HallPass Media, the league’s event partner firm, last year’s NBA Summer League increased Facebook volume by 35 percent, YouTube views by 40 percent, and Twitter followers by 110 percent. Moreover, 62 international countries utilized the #NBASummerLeague hashtag, which garnered 915,633,546 total gross impressions. At the venues, these social metrics were propelled through real-time, interactive digital displays to activate fans–not to mention in-arena and on-court digital signage. There was also an uptick in TV viewership and ticket sales of 12 and 15 percent, respectively. Thus, NBA fans’ insatiable interest for the players and the games extend beyond The Finals’ best moments.
With these tangible numbers in mind, NBA Digital and Turner Sports unveil the NBA Summer League App ahead of this Sunday’s start in Orlando. This endeavor serves as the first specific event-based app revolving the league’s marquee summer platform. The design and layout is somewhat similar to NBA Game Time, the league’s official app, except it feels more clean, simple, and responsive. The lighter shades of grey and white control buttons along with the royal blue header present a greater visual appeal to the user–almost akin to the NBA All-Star 2013 App created by WillowTree Apps. It is easy to navigate through the app to access live scoring, video highlights, recaps, and game alerts. Meanwhile, the aforementioned NBA Game Time has also been updated to include some of these same features and prompt users towards this new app.
The NBA Summer League App is currently free to download through the App Store and Google Play. And for those who want to watch the games whenever and wherever, there’s a premium option for the subscription service, NBA Summer League Live. Fans can pay $14.99 for all 62 games of both summer league sessions, which are archived and DVR-esque enabled. This streaming choice can also be purchased through NBA.com; all the prominent digital features from the NBA Draft like Player-metrics, BIG Tweets Here, and Draft BIG Talk are adjusted towards NBA Summer League content on the website.
NBA Digital’s sizzlin’ summer has just started. The league extends their off-season revenue sources beyond the $15 million economic impact it provides Las Vegas over the years. Like Bennett’s alma mater UNLV, the NBA continues to prove they’re a Runnin’ Rebel in the digital sphere through the new NBA Summer League App.