“Additional broadcast exposure,” Adam Silver said while emphasizing the importance of the NBA League Pass streaming. The purpose of it was to serve fans in every corner of the globe with uninterrupted high-quality streams of basketball games. Did it work? Well, not quite, if you look at the recent troubles that frustrated the NBA community.

When fans tuned in to watch the Sixers versus Timberwolves preseason game last Friday, they were left disappointed, agitated, and frustrated. Even after missing a majority of the opening quarter, they couldn’t watch the rest of the game properly. The video either experienced frequent interruptions or the quality deteriorated. When those managed to work decently, the commentary disappeared. This led to fans flooding social media to express their disappointment with Silver’s “innovation.” However, like any good story, there was a knight in shining armor—the Mavericks, who stepped in to save the day.

The Dallas Mavericks are working to launch an app which will let the community watch their games for free. Yes, free! This move is similar to what the Clippers did earlier and is probably a quick way to fix the issues.

The fans were not the only people who were unhappy with the whole incident. A couple of hours ago, Brian Windhorst too highlighted his disappointment, during the latest episode of Hoops Collective. While discussing Lonzo Balls’ return to the hardwood, the insider sarcastically told his colleagues, “Lonzo Ball played an NBA game, and he played pretty well for the Bulls in this game. I wasn’t allowed to watch it, of course.”

He added, “Even the preseason league pass has blacked the F out of the Timberwolves.” So when a prominent sports journalist highlights the blunders, Mr Silver, you better listen. With league officials putting a halt to the expansion project (for now), a shortage of profit from live-streaming should be the last thing they would want now.

NBA expansion on hold: Adam Silver prioritizes media rights as WNBA moves forward

For a while, the discussion about adding two more teams to the NBA has been going on. Las Vegas and Seattle have emerged as the frontrunners for potential expansion to get their NBA teams. Many suitors have already shown interest, but Adam Silver halted their dreams by stating that they still need to wait. Meanwhile, the WNBA has declared that they will add a new team in Portland, so now it’s up to Adam Silver to make his move.

Silver sat with Bloomberg to underline the major difference in the scenario of the two leagues. “There’s a tremendous interest in WNBA franchises right now, and I have no doubt that Commissioner Engelbert could sell a dozen of them before the end of the calendar year,” Silver stated. “But I don’t think we’re at the point yet in terms of talent in women’s basketball that we could keep the level of competition we have now and add that many teams.”

Silver waited to work out the NBA’s media rights deal before breaking the expansion news. With the media deal kicking in next season, the progression for integrating new franchises will start. But before that, can you fix the streaming issue, Mr Silver?