Sprint and the National Basketball Association have signed a multiyear marketing deal and the partnership will also include a Sprint-exclusive NBA app.
The deal will lead to an app called “Sprint NBA Mobile” and I’d expect it to be preloaded on many devices similar to how the Nascar app was or how the NFL Mobile app is on Verizon phones. The Sprint NBA app will include stats, in-game videos, highlights, live radio broadcasts of games and more. The app will be on Sprint’s Android phones by the time the season starts in just a few days.
“NBA fans are leading an increasingly mobile lifestyle, which makes Sprint an ideal partner to help them connect with our game at anytime, from anywhere,” said NBA Commissioner David Stern, in a prepared statement. “We look forward to working with Sprint to provide fans with unlimited access to the NBA, beginning with the launch of the new, jointly developed Sprint NBA Mobile application.”
This will also lead to Sprint doing a lot of advertising during NBA games and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it sponsoring some half-time shows and in-game events. T-Mobile had previously been the wireless partner of the NBA but the fate of T-Mobile is still up in the air. Regardless, Sprint is a nice step up for the NBA and I’d be really interested in that app if I were a subscriber.
More importantly, I’m just happy that the NBA is back and I really hope that Stern doesn’t decide to block this deal for basketball reasons.
[Via NBA]