RealNetworks Customers Will See NBA Action
The National Basketball Assn. agreed to make NBA.com TV, a 24-hour cable TV network offering game highlights and features, available to RealNetworks’ paying customers on the Internet. Starting Thursday, people who subscribe to Real’s $10-per-month RealPlayer GoldPass will be able to see personalized game highlights and listen to live audio broadcasts of games through the Net. The NBA already provides the audio broadcasts online for $30 per year through NBA.com and its partners. NBA Commissioner David Stern said he was in no hurry to offer full video Webcasts of the games in the U.S. or any of the more than 200 other countries where the NBA has sold licenses to TV networks. But he said the league may start using the Internet next season to transmit the games to countries where they aren’t televised.
