Verizon and NBA Announce Major Content and Marketing Partnership

NEW YORK, Nov. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced a major, multiyear content and marketing partnership making Verizon the Official Wireless Service Provider of the NBA, Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), NBA Development League (NBA D-League) and USA Basketball (USAB). 

As part of the new partnership, go90, a mobile video service and social entertainment platform, will feature extensive NBA content including daily highlights, original content and access to live out-of-market games through NBA LEAGUE PASS. Additionally, all go90 users will have access to exclusive NBA-related content and will be able to Cut & Share select clips and highlights via text (SMS), Facebook and Twitter. The NBA and go90 will collaborate on bringing a number of original exclusive series to the go90 platform, offering unique perspectives and voices from around the NBA.

Verizon will become the title partner of the NBA All-Star Slam Dunk platform. The "Verizon Slam Dunk" contest will debut at NBA All-Star 2016 in Toronto and Verizon will become the presenting partner of the NBA All-Star Balloting Program and a partner of NBA Draft, NBA Summer League and the Jr. NBA. Beginning with the 2016 season, Verizon will have a marquee partnership with the WNBA.  

"There's never been a more exciting time to be teaming with the NBA," said Diego Scotti, Chief Marketing Officer for Verizon. "The NBA has rapidly evolved into a year-round digital experience that engages millions of young, cross cultural fans, in many interesting ways. We are always looking for new ways to add value for our customers, and this partnership creates great opportunities to do just that. We're thrilled to bring exclusive and awesome content to go90 and to offer unprecedented access to unique experiences."

"Verizon has an outstanding reputation for reliability and innovation, and thanks to this new partnership the NBA will be able to connect with fans in places and ways we never have before," said NBA President, Global Media Distribution Bill Koenig. "As one of the country's leading mobile providers, we are grateful for the opportunity to collaborate with Verizon on their go90 platform to deliver a new mobile experience for NBA fans." 

Throughout the partnership, Verizon will be integrated into NBA TV, NBA.com, the NBA App and other NBA Digital assets - which are jointly managed by the NBA and Turner Sports - along with national broadcast partners ABC, ESPN and TNT. Additionally, Verizon will collaborate with multiple NBA teams.

go90 - unveiled in Oct. 2015 - features a rich mix of live sports, live music events, prime time and original programming for users to watch anytime and anywhere in the U.S. on their mobile devices - regardless of wireless carrier. Through the go90 a la carte option, users will be able to purchase NBA LEAGUE PASS live game packages including NBA SINGLE GAME, NBA TEAM PASS, or the full season package, providing access to nearly 1,000 live out-of-market games.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) employs a diverse workforce of 177,900 and generated more than $127 billion in 2014 revenues. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, with 110.8 million retail connections nationwide. Headquartered in New York, Verizon also provides communications and entertainment services over America's most advanced fiber-optic network, and delivers integrated business solutions to customers worldwide. For more information, visit www.verizon.com/news/.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts and other information are available at Verizon's online News Center at www.verizon.com/news/. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the Women's National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League. The league has established a major international presence with games and programming in 215 countries and territories in 49 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the start of the 2015-16 season featured 100 international players from 37 countries and territories. NBA Digital's assets include NBA.com and NBA Mobile, which achieved record traffic during the 2014-15 season, as well as NBA TV. The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with more than 915 million likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

SOURCE Verizon

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