from NBA Shoots for TV Deals by Year-End By R. Thomas Umstead of Multichannel News:
“Levy did add that it would talk to the NBA about securing some package of digital content for its burgeoning Turner Sports New Media division. The group already owns or operates several sports broadband sites, including Accselect.com, PGA.com, PGATour.com, and NASCAR.com and would like to add some more NBA content to its portfolio. Turner currently produces a broadband video service for NBA.com, based on video clips and reports from its Inside the NBA Thursday night pre-game and post-game shows.
The NBA has a broadband video service as part of its NBA.com site, which includes live game broadcasts for users purchasing its “NBA League Pass” pay-per-view package of out-of-market games.
“[Turner Sports Media] is a valuable property for us and if we’re going to extend that brand further, you want the NBA to be there,” Levy said. “
Considering that the NBA has ended its relationship with Google Video, this could be a very interesting situation. Google provided full games on its video site; if Turner got the same, it would have the promotional power through its Thursday Night games to make its site a sports destination. And considering that they are under the same corporate umbrella (Time Warner), the possibility exists that these various sports multimedia operations could fall under the familiar brand of Sports Illustrated.
