Sling TV has added NBA League Pass, providing subscribers with the option to add live out-of-market games to their streaming package; the first multi-channel OTT service to offer the add-on package for basketball junkies. For an additional $29/mo. Sling Orange, Sling Blue and Sling International subscribers can add NBA League Pass to their existing subscription, gaining access to an additional +/- 1,000 live game broadcasts. In the coming weeks, those looking for a cheaper alternative will have the option of adding Team Pass for $18/mo.; though, that package only provides access to out-of-market games for a single NBA franchise, of the subscriber’s choice.
Howie Long-Short: Sling TV is a subsidiary of Dish Network (DISH). Earlier this week, as part of the company’s Q4 ’17 financial report, DISH disclosed the number of Sling TV subscribers (2.212 million) for the first time (previously counted them with DISH TV subs). For full year 2017, total revenue declined 5.4% (to $14.39 billion). Net income grew $600,000, but only because of the $1.2 billion (one-time) tax benefit that the company received from recent tax reform legislation.
Fan Marino: No NBA games were scheduled Monday-Wednesday this week, giving the league’s stars a chance to rest after All-Star weekend; but, it’s been anything but a quiet week for Mark Cuban the Dallas Mavericks. On Tuesday, Sports Illustrated published an expose highlighting the “Corrosive Workplace Culture” (see: sexual harassment, domestic violence etc.) within the Mavericks organization. On Wednesday, the league fined the Mavericks’ owner $600,000 for suggesting that losing (or tanking) was in his team’s best interests. It’s been a quick fall from grace for a guy that had been mentioned as a potential Presidential candidate in 2020.
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