The Clippers’ local television deal with Fox Sports Prime Ticket expired June 30. Ballmer, 60, has yet to indicate the team’s TV plans but says one thing is certain: Whoever lands any new regional sports network (RSN) deal won’t be getting the digital rights that typically go with such packages.
No, Ballmer vows the Clippers will break new ground by keeping digital rights to themselves and creating an “over the top” streaming network to complement the usual TV game broadcast. For those unfamiliar with the term, “over the top” — OTT in digital parlance — refers to programming streamed directly to the Web without the use of a cable or satellite platform.
The Clippers have partnered with Second Spectrum to create an Internet-based network that will provide content that could include player-specific cameras, in-game highlights and statistics in real time. Rather than doing the traditional game broadcast, the network is expected to serve as a “second screen” complement to the RSN play-by-play coverage.
“The real opportunity, if you will, is to augment reality as people are watching the game,’’ Ballmer said. “Can you put yourself in the position of (Clippers power forward) Blake Griffin? What does it look like? What does the game in question look like in real time from his perspective?’’
Ballmer added that the additional screen could provide percentage probabilities in real time about whether a specific player will take a shot or make a pass. Users also could choose replays from a highlights package, or even specific camera angles from which to view the game.
Though the OTT offering would be on an authenticated basis — meaning available for an extra cost to viewers already having a cable or satellite TV subscription — it marks a decisive shift in content control back to the team.
“There’s no capitalism working right now in sports,’’ Ballmer said. “Teams sign these agreements, they go for a long period of time and nobody actually has any incentive to work on it. The team has no incentive because its money is going to be the same in any event. The broadcaster has a long-term contract with the cable company — they have no incentive to work harder. And the cable company is basically taking a bundle of stuff and sticking it out there.”