The National Basketball Association (NBA) and watchmaker Tissot announced a multiyear partnership on Monday that will make Tissot the official timekeeper for the NBA, the WNBA, and the NBA D-League.
The deal, which was the most expensive in Tissot’s 162-year history, was also the company’s first with a major North American sports league. The partnership gives Tissot branding on clocks in all NBA arenas and the licensing rights to all teams’ watches and timepieces; in addition, they will create a new timekeeping system for NBA arenas starting in the 2016-17 season.
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The NBA’s Vice President of Global Marketing Partnerships, Emilio Collins, says the deal arose mainly from the NBA’s need of a new in-game timekeeping system. The last time the league’s system had a full overhaul was in 2004. Right now the game clock starts and stops with a button kept by officials, and is backed by an official at the scorer’s table. Additionally, these clocks are not synced with those on television broadcasts.
The NBA will also have new aspects to its timekeeping this 2015-16 season, with 90 second times between starting lineup announcements and tipoff and at other stoppages during games. With all the starting and stopping that this new system will be tasked with, Tissot hopes to make the most intricate sports timekeeping system in history.
While this may seem like a simple marketing strategy on the surface, the real importance of the deal is the new timing system for the NBA. Although it doesn’t look like much, an accurate automated system will save countless headaches and mistakes; taking human error out the equation will give players and officials alike a new peace of mind. This deal has a little something for everyone to appreciate.