NBA Lockout Will Make for "Dumbed Down" Team Websites

Once the NBA enters a lockout – which could occur soon with the current collective bargaining agreement expiring Thursday at midnight – individual teams’ marketing efforts will have to become more creative. That’s because, once in lockout mode, website administrators for team sites will not be able to use pictures, videos, likenesses, or even be allowed to mention players. Although the issue of fair use could be disputed in this case and there are plenty of arbitrary factors that will be left up to teams, it is still expected that official NBA-affiliated websites will be devoid of enticing content for marketing or promotions purposes because of the lockout. For the time being, the website administrators will have to focus on mascots, dancers and charity events. Not the best avenues to promoting the NBA product. Essentially, everything is going to be stripped from the site. According to Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com’s True Hoop Blog “The NBA has built and furnished each team w...