ESPN Digital Media to Provide Full Court Coverage of the NBA on ESPN.com, ESPN Mobile, ESPN3 and WatchESPN
With the NBA back in full swing, NBA Digital and ESPN are bringing back the official commissioner-style fantasy basketball game for its third year with the 66-game season. Through this unique collaboration, fantasy basketball players have access to the very best fantasy basketball content online and on mobile devices via ESPN.com and NBA.com, two of the leading NBA destinations on digital platforms.
Fans will once again be able to create leagues and teams, schedule drafts, conduct mock drafts, check scores, set their lineups, manage their teams with the latest information on their players and more. Other features in the game include:
· FantasyCast – a tool that will allow players to follow their team live during games;
· Free Agency Auction Bidding – a more competitive option amongst team owners to bid for waiver wire players;
· Public Custom Leagues – create or join public leagues with customized league settings; and
· Player Watch Lists and Player Comparison – follow free agent players throughout the season.
ESPN NBA.com Fantasy Basketball 2012 is available on NBA.com and ESPN.com and on ESPN and NBA mobile Web sites. Players can once again find the same great content they’ve come to expect, including integrated access to all the leading NBA Digital and ESPN Fantasy news, analysis and information including video, podcasts, columns, features and more; NBA TV and ESPN studio personalities competing in the game throughout the season; and mobile companions allowing team management through the ESPN and NBA mobile Web sites.
The NBA on ESPN Digital Platforms
The NBA across ESPN digital platforms, including ESPN.com and ESPN Mobile, logged a total average minute audience of 16,000 last season, up 40% compared to the previous season. Additionally, during the 2011 NBA Playoffs, ESPN Digital Media saw a growing audience of fans tuning into the latest news and coverage on ESPN.com, the ESPN mobile Web and ESPN3. Across all digital media platforms, the NBA Playoffs delivered an average minute audience of nearly 19,000 people, up 37% compared to 2010.
ESPN.com
The NBA section on ESPN.com logged 1.7 million daily unique visitors last season, up 23% compared to the previous year. Additionally, the section also generated 2.2 billion page views, up 18%, and had an average minute audience of nearly 10,000, up 33%.The section also delivered over 1.8 million average daily unique visitors during the post-season, up 13% compared to the same period last year.
ESPN.com will continue its in-depth coverage of the NBA, including the redesigned Daily Dime, ESPN.com’s primary vehicle for day-to-day coverage of the league. It will include coverage of every NBA game, analysis, stats, photos, video, comments, polls, chat excerpts, podcasts and the popular weekly wrap-up notebook, Marc Stein’s Weekend Dime. Additionally, Daily Dime Live will begin its regular season coverage on Sunday, December 25 at 7 p.m. ET with live discussion and observations about teams, players and games from our talented lineup of reporters, analysts, commentators, TrueHoop Network bloggers and fans from across the NBA universe. Other coverage includes:
· 5-on-5: Five ESPN commentators take on the five hottest issues in the NBA each day;
· Hoop Idea: With the help of ESPN’s NBA experts, reporters, analysts and fans through social media, Hoop Idea will identify basketball’s problem areas and offer suggestions for fixing those problems;
· Video: A new live streaming show will make its debut on ESPN.com this year, inviting fans to hangout with reporters, commentators, analysts, bloggers and other fans in a new video chat room. Highlights of every NBA game, postgame analysis and scouting reports – including news, information and analysis shows likeTrueHoop TV and NBA411 – will also be available exclusively on ESPN.com;
· Social Media: Millions of NBA fans sound off on Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and the SportsNation platform. ESPN.com taps into that passion through #NBArank, 5-on-5, Daily Dime Live, TrueHoop Live, ESPN chats and more.
WatchESPN and ESPN3
Fans who receive their video subscription from an affiliated provider will have access to NBA games featured on ESPN networks online at WatchESPN.com and through the WatchESPN app on smartphone and tablet devices. ESPN3– also available online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and additionally through ESPN on Xbox Live – will once again deliver every NBA game on ESPN and ESPN2 this season. NBA games on the live multi-screen sports network generated nearly 115 million minutes consumed during the 2010-2011 season, up 178% compared to the previous year. The NBA Playoffs in 2011 also delivered 1.2 million unique viewers and 110 million minutes consumed, up 158% compared to the same period in 2010. The schedule for December and January of the 2011-2012 season on ESPN3 includes:
| Date | Time (ET) | Match-Up |
| Sun, Dec 25 | 8:00 p.m. | Orlando Magic vs. Oklahoma City Thunder |
| 10:30 p.m. | LA Clippers vs. Golden State Warriors | |
| Fri, Jan 6 | 8:00 p.m. | Chicago Bulls vs. Orlando Magic |
| 10:30 p.m. | Portland Trail Blazers vs. Phoenix Suns | |
| Wed, Jan 11 | 8:00 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. Boston Celtics |
| 10:30 p.m. | Miami Heat vs. LA Clippers | |
| Fri, Jan 13 | 8:00 p.m. | Chicago Bulls vs. Boston Celtics |
| 10:30 p.m. | Miami Heat vs. Denver Nuggets | |
| Sun, Jan 15 | 9:00 p.m. | Phoenix Suns vs. San Antonio Spurs |
| Mon, Jan 16 | 1:00 p.m. | Chicago Bulls vs. Memphis Grizzlies |
| Wed, Jan 18 | 8:00 p.m. | Portland Trail Blazers vs. Atlanta Hawks |
| 10:30 p.m. | Dallas Mavericks vs. LA Clippers | |
| Fri, Jan 20 | 8:00 p.m. | LA Lakers vs. Orlando Magic |
| 10:30 p.m. | Minnesota Timberwolves vs. LA Clippers | |
| Fri, Jan 27 | 8:00 p.m. | New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat |
| Sun, Jan 29 | 6:30 p.m. | San Antonio Spurs vs. Dallas Mavericks |
ESPN Mobile
Fans visited ESPN mobile platforms for the latest scores, news and analysis while on the go at record levels last season, and will come to find the same great coverage across the ESPN mobile Web site, apps and alerts again this year. Additionally, ESPN’s 24/7 mobile sports television network, ESPN Mobile TV, will carry over 75 Live NBA games.
Last season, the NBA section on the ESPN mobile Web logged 1.1 million daily unique visitors, up 57% compared to the previous season. It also generated 1.2 billion page views, also up 57%, and had an average minute audience of 6,000, up 67%. Traffic during the post-season also delivered 1.2 million average daily unique visitors, up 38%. Additionally, ESPN sent over 909 million alerts covering NBA game starts, scoring updates and news last year through the regular season, Playoffs and NBA Draft in the 2010-2011 season – more than 4.5 times the amount of alerts that were delivered the previous year.
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