NBA League Pass is, hands-down, the most comprehensive way to catch every single NBA game on any device you may have, but because the price of its packages can be a turn-off, it has now unveiled an option that lets you watch 10 minutes of live basketball for only $0.99. There’s no catch – pay your buck, watch your ball. Any team, any game, no matter what. You can even switch around as you please, but once your 10 minutes is up, you’re kicked out, and you’ll have to pay up to get into the virtual stands again.
This new option is a bite-sized appeal to those who just want to check in, or perhaps see the end of a given game. A quick spot of basketball on your lunch break shouldn’t have to mean paying up for an entire game, after all, and the reduced and per-quarter pricing requires waiting around, which may not always be an option. This new option isn’t really for the league-followers or score hounds, though; there are other ways to keep track of all of that. No, this is for those who just want to watch some great basketball as it happens, and want to do it on the cheap.
With all of that said, it ‘s worth mentioning that NBA League Pass allows you to watch on practically any modern device with a screen, and is not by any means limited to Android. Everything from your phone, Windows PC and Chromebook to your Sony PlayStation 3 or 4, or XBOX 360 or One can all get in on the fun. You can even catch games on Amazon Alexa, via a video-enabled Alexa device or in audio-only format, and VR fans can check in via Gear VR, Daydream, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and more.
If you’re trying to check out live basketball on a budget, paying a buck and only getting ten minutes can be a bit of a bummer. That said, it’s not hard to find other options or even more comprehensive packages that include NBA games, and you may already have one of them. If you subscribe to YouTube TV or Hulu TV, for example, you already have options for NBA content. PlayStation Now and Sling TV also include a wealth of NBA content. Naturally, nothing is as comprehensive as NBA League Pass, so if you’re a die-hard basketball fan and you’re not interested in anything else, it may be worth the fairly high price to hop on board for the season.
This bite-sized offering is probably not going to change things in the mobile streaming or sports streaming spaces, though it is nice for those who aren’t terribly committed. It would be quite nice to see shows, episodes, and other content outside of sports offered a la carte on a massive scale, but thus far, Amazon seems to be the only real player in that field. Thankfully, there are tons of free options out there for almost any content you may want. Anime fans can get their fix for free with ads on Crunchyroll, for example, and movie junkies can try services like Crackle and FreeDive, and those whose local libraries have partnered up can also hit up Hoopla for free movie streaming.