NBA Digital Extends Its `Game Time' Mobile App To TV

Turner Sports will expand the distribution of its NBA Game Time mobile application to television sets through deals announced Monday with LCD/HDTV production company Vizio Inc and Internet set-top box maker Roku Inc.

As part of the deal, Turner's NBA Digital will make available for free the application - which features video highlights of every game, real-time access to game summaries, complete player statistics, and access to news -- through TV maker Vizio's's Internet Apps platform and through all Roku's broadband-connected, digital video players, Turner executives said.
Vizio users can access the app through the Vizio Internet Apps widget gallery and on Roku via the Roku Channel Store.
The NBA Game Time on mobile is also available for $2.99 during the playoffs on the Android Marketplace, App Store, and Blackberry App World.
A Turner Sports official said the deal only covers the remainder of the playoffs and does not extend to the league's NBA League Pass Broadband out-of-market live game package. The league has been negotiating with Roku to reach a distribution deal similar to the Roku's carriage agreement with Major League Baseball for the league's MLB.TV Internet TV live game package.

R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.