The deal, to build a consumer-focused digital platform, will begin with the 2020-2021 season, the NBA and Microsoft said Thursday in a statement. The software maker’s agreement extends to all NBA properties, including the Women’s National Basketball Association, as well as USA Basketball. — AFP
The selection of Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, is a blow to rivals Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google in the race for cloud-computing market share. Amazon Web Services leads the market for internet-based computing and storage, with Microsoft Azure placing No. 2. Microsoft also has a partnership with the National Football League — best known for teams’ sideline use of the company’s Surface tablets.
Executives at both organisations describe this effort as akin to building a new media platform for NBA fans, letting the league personalize video content, make it easier to search its archives and integrate existing NBA products and services, including the e-commerce site. When the system detects a person’s interest in, say, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, because they look at James’s highlights from a game, archives or buy his jersey, AI tailors content for them.
With the current season disrupted by the pandemic, Silver said he wished this partnership had been in place six months or a year earlier. The NBA chose Microsoft over others because of Nadella’s personal commitment, Silver said. Nadella’s predecessor, former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, owns the L.A. Clippers NBA franchise.