It’s all about the money.
The lockout was largely about money. Cramming 66 games into a condensed schedule was all about the money (revenue for owners, paychecks for players). Every move the NBA makes is about money.
And as another reminder of that — and a big middle finger to hardcore fans — the league is going to charge basically full price for League Pass, the package that lets you get every NBA game at home on your television (via Ball Don’t Lie). The initial price is $169 this year (it was $179 last year for the early bird special, $189 once games started). And that’s just in America, if you live overseas the price is actually going up.
The league will sell that now the mobile broadband — you can watch games on your smartphone — is included rather than extra. Don’t care.
The magic number we wanted was $145 — that was the pro-rated share of 66 games from last year’s price. You can charge us the same per game, but don’t charge us the same as last year when you are giving us less product. Not to mention a sloppier product thanks to a rushed preseason and condensed schedules.
It’s not really the $24 dollars, it’s the symbolic gesture. Kind of a “hey, my bad.”
At no point through the lockout or this preseason has there been evidence that the league really cares about its fans. Sure, there has been lip service. David Stern sent out a swell letter. But actual evidence — some financial or other tangible means of saying the owners and players are sorry for the five months of BS — never showed up.
Because the money matters. Not the fans that provide that money. That’s what the actions say.
