Subscribers to the linear package get broadband access at no extra charge. Perez says authentication issues make that too difficult to do now. “Right now, we don’t know how that’s going to sort itself out.” But he expects eventually that “If you buy the full-blown $170 linear product that you’ll be able to watch it across all the platforms, because that’s the highest-prices pass.”

—Game Time: Two other apps developed in house are already live: the $10 NBA Game Time, with live home and away radio feeds for every game, live scores, live stats, and the NBA’s official Twitter feed among the features; and a free stripped-down version. Both apps are in all three app stores: iTunes, Android and BlackBerry.

—Pricing: It sounds like a bargain compared to the TV set version, which runs about $170 for a full season, but NBA Digital GM Bryan Perez knows it could seem expensive to people who think a $4 app is high. “There’s not a lot of $40 apps out there,” he said in an interview. “We want to bring this to as many people as possible, so we’re going for a larger number by keeping it lower.”

—Multiple platforms: Perez: “I think the biggest point is we developed across multiple platforms simultaneously. For us that’s a key operating philosophy.”

—Free preview: Leagues often pitch their high-ticket packages through free previews, something that only recently became possible for the iPhone when Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) made made a change allowing upgrades from free to paid. The release was too late for NBA Digital to take advantage for the the start of the season but Perez says they’re looking into doing it around the All-Star game.