NBA Digital announced its multiplatform coverage of The Finals for on-air, online, and mobile. Marking its 11th season of Finals coverage, NBA TV will present live pregame and postgame shows featuring its marquee lineup of on-air talent – who will be onsite throughout The Finals – and original programming, while NBA.com will debut its new “Super Highlights” feature. NBA Mobile will offer a live game companion with access to real-time player and team performance stats and highlights. NBA Digital is the NBA’s extensive cross-platform portfolio of digital assets jointly managed by the NBA and Turner Sports. This robust offering includes NBA TV, NBA.com, NBA LEAGUE PASS, NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband, NBA Mobile, NBADLEAGUE.com, and WNBA.com.
Throughout The Finals, NBA TV’s arsenal of hosts, analysts, and reporters will be onsite providing comprehensive coverage and in-depth analysis of the teams and players. The studio team of Matt Winer, Chris Webber, Steve Smith and Brent Barry will be at the helm with the AutoTrader.com Pregame Show and NBA GameTime presented by Hyundai, the network’s postgame show, for Game 1, with Boston Celtics Hall of Famer Kevin McHale joining the team for games 2, 6* and 7* (*if necessary). Winer also will team up with TNT’s Emmy Award-winning studio team of Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith for Games 3, 4, and 5 (if necessary) and in Boston, where he won three NBA championships, Kevin McHale will join Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith for Game 3.
NBA TV’s Finals team will also include host Rick Kamla and analysts Steve Smith and Brent Barry, as well as NBA.com’s award- winning reporters providing instant analysis of the action.
NBA TV, NBA.com, and NBA Mobile’s coverage of The Finals will also include:
o Super Highlights: NBA.com will provide fans with extended “Super Highlights” the day after each game, including video playback in slow motion, multiple camera angles, and audio for radio-call rewinds.
o The Barkley Zone: NBA.com’s popular channel will be active throughout The Finals, including the popular “Ask Chuck” segment, during which Barkley answers questions submitted by fans.
o Special Finals Programming: NBA TV will present a lineup of original Finals programming, including One on One with Ahmad Rashad, a season-ending special featuring interviews with All-Stars Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic, and LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers; Sounds of the Playoffs, an all-access pass featuring never-before-heard conversations between players and coaches in the locker room and in the huddle; Sounds of the Finals, a unique, in-depth insight into rival matchups; and live coverage of David Stern’s annual Finals press conference.
o Live Streaming Video Chats on NBA.com and Yahoo.com with Chris Webber and Kenny Smith.
o NBA Game Time Courtside: NBA Mobile’s live game companion providing fans with at-a-glance access to real-time player and team performances in addition to live scores, stats, plays, and video highlights enabled through a simple tap or swipe of the finger. Game Time Courtside is available for free and available for download through the Apple App store at www.itunes.com/appstore/ .
o The Ahmad Squad: Rashad provides an all-access pass to The Finals as he goes behind the scenes using his video camera to capture exclusive footage.
o All-Access Coverage on NBA.com: NBA.com will provide live streaming of the coaches’ pregame news conference, all postgame conferences, postgame live blogs for every game, and streaming video reports, analysis, highlights, and content from TNT and NBA TV announcers. The site also allows fans to vote on their choice for the Player of the Game.
o NBA TV Talent and NBA.com Writers on Twitter: From last-second jumper to pivotal passes, NBA TV talent and NBA.com reporters will provide commentary on The Finals via Twitter, which will also be posted to a landing page on NBA.com that aggregates the tweets of the NBA’s best analysts, writers, and insiders.
