The Nuggets ring ceremony, Ernie, Kenny, Shaq and Chuck, Joker, Bron, Steph and KD… opening night looked amazing and the stream by Bleacher Report and HBO Max (I know it’s Max) only buffered twice and it wasn’t at critical moments. I could see every pair of sneakers, but more important I could see the commercials.
Live TV, sports, remain the best location for brands and companies to hawk their wares. While viewers are often tweeting, or Xing (is that how you say it?), the transition between commercials when the spots are targeted correctly, will make you look up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNfV8mr4Sno
Why am I speaking commercials instead of opening night kicks? It’s the analyst in me. For the last few years cord cutting had disrupted my viewership of the NBA. Most of my coverage for the league arrived in the form of YouTube highlights and channels on the YT platform. The commercials there tend to be redundant and less polished. More important, they are skippable.
I pay for Max and the BR Sports free 5-month package I honestly hadn’t paid attention to, until last night. I clicked on the app, tabbed over to the BR Sports button and an abundance of options landed on my screen. I didn’t think I’d see the NBA on TNT team on Max, which is my favorite aspect of the NBA. Not even the TNT OT or NBA app allows me to follow the greatest show in sports. BR Sports on Max gave me all of the good stuff I remember from my cable days. I mean on the NBA app I wouldn’t have seen, in real time Shaq getting the crowd to say “I Love You” in Serbian:
Seriously, the live stream allowed me to see several commercial spots from JD Sports. There were also the countless AT&T airplane spots, which will not get me to buy an iPhone or switch to AT&T, but I guess it’s in my head so there is that… JD Sports’ commercials were compelling. The spots were solid and established there is a new king of sneaker retail.
For years the NBA and Foot Locker were connected. When I thought about kicks and the NBA, I thought House of Hoops. JD seemed aggressive in their ad placement throughout both games and featured two different ads. The Global aspect of the NBA is evident in how a European chain has been able to arrive in the U.S. and usurp a dormant, slow to respond Foot Locker. Last night JD Sports gave teasers but more important when I combine my thoughts from in-store visits with the commercials shown, JD has a better experience at brick and mortar and now they are actively supporting the NBA with ad dollars replacing Foot Locker as the retailer to visit in the upcoming holiday season.
