PLDT and SMART to offer NBA League Pass

PLDT / SMART + NBA = good times

Last week, telecom and digital service providers PLDT and SMART entered into a multi-year partnership with the NBA, allowing the former to offer the latter's NBA League Pass to its 62 million subscribers in the Philippines.

NBA League Pass is the league's premium live game subscription service, allowing fans to access games whether live or on demand either online or through their mobile device. Already available in more than two hundred countries, NBA LP not only allows users to watch regular season and playoff games in high-definition, but also the NBA All-Star Weekend, as well as select preseason and NBA Summer League games. In watching the games, viewers also have the ability to pick their preferred viewing options, which includes NBA Mobile View, which is tailored for viewing on tablets or mobile phones.

Under this new partnership, PLDT and SMART subscribers will have the ability to avail of the service, either through using the PhP 50 Day Pass or bundling the service onto their current plan.

For SMART subscribers, just text NBA50 to 9999 to avail of the service for a 24-hour period, whilst PLDT Home users can tack on their preferred NBA League Pass offering onto their monthly broadband subscription.

In addition, both PLDT and SMART subscribers will have access to NBA highlights, recaps, and top plays daily on the official websites of PLDT Home and Smart 360.

PLDT and SMART Senior Vice President and Head of Consumer Business Market Development Oscar A. Reyes, Jr., shares, "Filipinos have an unparalleled love for basketball, which is why the game has been at the center of our advocacy for sports excellence all over the country. Through our groundbreaking partnership with NBA, we look forward to empowering Filipinos with digital experiences that enrich their lifestyle whether at home or on-the-go – through our world-class partners and innovative platforms, powered by the country’s most extensive and robust fixed line and wireless networks."

NBA Philippines Managing Director Carlo Singson adds, "We are excited to work with PLDT and Smart, two companies that share our passion for providing live NBA action and exciting content to our Filipino fans on the devices they use most. PLDT and Smart provide the ideal platform for us to broaden our reach in the Philippines and provide more channels to bring the NBA experience to our passionate fans across the country."

In addition, PLDT and SMART will now be official partners in the upcoming NBA 3X Philippines presented by AXA. NBA 3XPH is the league's 3x3 tournament in the country that is spiced up by authentic NBA entertainment.

Smart Bro with a sweet deal alongside UFC Fight Night: Manila

Ricardo "The Bully" Lamas and BJ "The Prodigy” Penn face off in front of UFC Executive Vice President and General Manager, Asia, Kenneth Berger (middle). The two fighters will headline UFC FIGHT NIGHT® Manila: LAMAS vs. PENN at SM MOA Arena on Oct.15. With Smart Bro as the official mobile carrier partner of the UFC in the Philippines, subscribers can look forward to exclusive perks and experiences at the much anticipated event.

With the fight card for the UFC Fight Night that will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena on October 15 slowly being completed, Filipino mobile broadband provider Smart Bro was also revealed to be the official mobile broadband partner for the UFC here in the country.

VP and Consumer Broadband Marketing Head Gary Dujali says "We expect the return of the UFC FIGHT NIGHT® Manila to be more explosive than ever, and our subscribers can watch out for an unrivaled UFC experiences that only Smart Bro can deliver. Beyond offering the country's fastest, widest and most reliable mobile broadband connection, Smart Bro is big on enriching the passions of our subscribers with unparalleled experiences. By getting a Smart Bro Pocket WiFi or our iPad mini 2 for as low as P599 a month now, Filipino UFC fans have the chance to unlock exclusive Smart Bro UFC experiences."

Smart Bro had recently unveiled the iPad Mini 2 deal, which it considers to be the best one ever in the market. For those who are already subscribing to the Smart Bro Plan 299 deal, one can upgrade to the Plan 599 from their current deal and just add a PhP 2,500 cash-out to be able to own that tablet.

To celebrate their multi-year partnership with the UFC, Smart Bro has hosted UFC live viewing parties with special perks for Smart Bro subscribers. They also sent lucky subscribers to Las Vegas for UFC 200 at the T-Mobile Arena.

Smart Bro's fast and reliable connection is very handy for those who use UFC Fight Pass, the digital platform that MMA fans go to for exclusive UFC content and of course, access to the world's largest online library of fight content.

UFC Fight Night: Manila features BJ Penn against Ricardo Lamas as its main event, with the following fights also been announced:

Derrick Lewis vs Marcin Tybura
Kyoji Horiguchi vs Ali Bagautinov
Cole Miller vs Mizuto Hirota
Seohee Ham vs Danielle Taylor
Jon Tuck vs Mehdi Baghdad

For more details about Smart Bro's involvement with the UFC, check out www.smart.com.ph/UFC as well as Smart's social media networks: (www.facebook.com/SmartCommunications), Twitter and Instagram (@LiveSmart).