Gaming
NBA app launches multiview feature for 2024-25 season
Mumbai: The NBA announced the launch of new features available to fans globally on the NBA app – the official home of basketball – for the 2024-25 season, showcasing the league’s dedication to innovation to enhance the fan viewing experience. The new elements are highlighted by multiview now available on connected devices, which gives fans the option to watch up to four games simultaneously on NBA league pass – the league’s live game subscription service.
In addition, NBA league pass subscribers worldwide will have the ability to customize their viewing experience and always be live when watching NBA games. Fans can smart rewind games from any point with key plays highlighted, download full games for offline viewing and access a range of game recap versions including “All Possessions,” “10-Minute Condensed,” “Key Highlights,” and more. Additionally, the app will offer interactive synced stats and analytics, ensuring fans experience the game in the app as if it is live no matter when they are watching.
Among the game-changing enhancements is “NBA Insights,” an AI-powered tool that leverages the power of Microsoft Azure. The feature uses AI rooted in deep basketball understanding to identify key narratives, player performances, and notable milestones, providing fans with a continuous feed of text-based updates that go beyond the box score to better contextualise what’s happening on the court. The league is also using Generative AI to localize content, offering game recaps in French, Portuguese and Spanish as well as translations for select original programming and live games.
Additionally, content on the NBA app throughout the season will incorporate “Dunk Score,” an AI-calculated grade for in-game dunks in real-time based on a breadth of factors including the player’s jumping distance, style and force at the rim, and defensive efforts from the opposing team.
“Pass the Rock,” the popular NBA app series highlighting the emerging league stars, returns today for season three with a special “Rookie Year Edition.” This episode will follow San Antonio Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s transition to the NBA, culminating in him being named the Kia NBA Rookie of the Year. On Sunday, Oct. 20, the NBA will launch “Raising 18,” a nine-part docuseries narrated by five-time NBA All-Star Al Horford spotlighting the Boston Celtics’ journey to their 2024 NBA Finals victory.
Popular experiential features within the NBA App have been enhanced to increase personalization, including the all-new ‘Following’ tab, which combines the latest content from your favourite teams and players into an algorithmic feed as well as the revamped “Game Stories” now with pre-game analysis, highlights and interactive polls. “Moments” – the popular vertical social media-style feed feature – has been upgraded to include multi-language support and can now be accessed on Roku TVs for quick content consumption on larger screens.
On NBA league pass, fans will have access to more than 800 live out-of-market games and a variety of alternate telecast options, including in-language streams (Spanish, Portuguese and Korean), the return of the popular “NBA Strategy Stream” providing fans with a unique viewing option breaking down in-game tactics and “NBA HooperVision” featuring NBA legend Quentin Richardson and special guests. Additional alternate stream options will be announced throughout the season.
NBA league pass will also be the primary destination for NBA games every weekend in November, with all games scheduled to stream on the platform (with no national blackouts). Subscribers can access up to 15 games a day on weekends throughout the month, with NBA ID members – the league’s global membership program – receiving complimentary access to NBA League Pass during the first Member Days of the season on November 16 and 17. NBA ID members in the United States and Canada will also have the opportunity to participate in a series of challenges in the NBA App and NBA.com between Oct. 20-27 for a chance to win a trip to the Emirates NBA Cup in Las Vegas. For more information on NBA ID.
The league continues to expand the technological capabilities of its “Next Gen integrated digital platform,” which is now powering four team-specific direct-to-consumer streaming services in the NBA App, including BlazerVision (Portland Trail Blazers), ClipperVision (LA Clippers), Jazz+ (Utah Jazz) and Suns Live (Phoenix Suns). The platform, which is the technology backbone for the NBA App, is also enabling Spectrum SportsNet+ (Los Angeles Lakers).
NBA League Pass premium commercial-free packages are available on NBA.com and in the NBA App for $159.99 a season (or $24.99 a month) or $109.99 (or $16.99 a month) for a standard package. The NBA app – a product of NBA digital, the league’s joint venture with TNT sports – is powered by Microsoft Azure.
Gaming
MTG gaming chief Benninghoff joins NODWIN board as esports firm primes for IPO
The Gurugram-based esports firm is pursuing a public listing, has returned to profitability and is growing revenues by 42 per cent
GURUGRAM: NODWIN Gaming is moving fast. The Gurugram-based gaming and esports company has launched a pre-IPO fundraising round, appointed UBS as lead adviser for both the round and a subsequent public listing, and landed a heavyweight board director, all in one go.
The new board member is Arnd Benninghoff, executive vice president of gaming at Stockholm-listed Modern Times Group (MTG), who has overseen the group’s strategic investments and portfolio growth since 2014. He is no stranger to building things: Benninghoff has founded and built fifteen companies, served as chief digital officer at ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG, managing director of SevenVentures, and chief executive of Holtzbrinck eLAB. He began his career as a journalist at Deutsche Presse Agentur and various TV networks, holds a Diplom-Kaufmann in business and administration from the University of Münster, and previously sat on the board of Edgeware AB.
The numbers back the ambition
NODWIN is not pitching a story without substance. The company has returned to EBITDA profitability and posted a 42 per cent year-on-year revenue surge, reaching $58.5m in the first nine months of FY2026. The pre-IPO round will combine a primary issuance to fund global expansion through organic growth and acquisitions, alongside a secondary sale to give existing shareholders some liquidity.
Akshat Rathee, co-founder and managing director of NODWIN Gaming, said Benninghoff understands “the entire lifecycle of the gaming and media ecosystem, from the boots-on-the-ground reality of building startups to the strategic complexity of managing multi-billion dollar global portfolios.”
Benninghoff, for his part, said the company “sits at the intersection of sports, entertainment, and technology, making it one of the most exciting players in the global gaming landscape today.”
A portfolio built for the global south
Founded in 2014 by Rathee and Gautam Virk, NODWIN has quietly assembled one of the more compelling esports portfolios outside the Western hemisphere. Its properties include DreamHack India and Comic Con India, and it recently acquired StarLadder, the Ukraine-based tournament organiser behind premier events in CS:GO and Dota 2. The company also serves as a long-term strategic marketing partner for the Evolution Championship Series (EVO), the world’s most prominent fighting game tournament, helping push it into new geographies.
Its geographic focus spans South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Backers include Nazara Technologies, KRAFTON, Sony Group Corporation, JetSynthesys, and the founders’ investment vehicle Good Game Investments.
What comes next
With UBS running the books, a board freshly reinforced with European media and gaming expertise, and revenue heading in the right direction, NODWIN is laying the groundwork deliberately. The esports industry has burned investors before with big promises and thin margins. NODWIN’s return to profitability, combined with a real portfolio of owned intellectual properties across gaming, music and youth culture, gives it a more credible runway than most. The IPO clock is now ticking.
