Fighting Fire with Fire Sense
Utah Fire Sense
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz Get an Online Assist
The Challenge
For years, the Utah Jazz struggled to control their online fan experience. Due to an NBA streaming contract, their televised games were often spread over half a dozen channels and experiences. But when the time came to renew those contracts, the Jazz saw a chance to reimagine the digital fan experience. They came to Boncom with a strategic question: what was the best way to reach their fans, and what did fans actually expect?
The Insight
Through a strategic, research-driven approach leveraging Design Thinking, Boncom discovered that thousands of loyal Jazz fans were paying for nearly nine NBA streaming subscriptions to access every game. They spent hundreds of dollars a season just to support their team. The problem wasn't a lack of dedication. It was a system that wasn't built for fans. With an expiring TV contract, the Jazz had the opportunity to give fans exactly what they'd been paying for all along.
The Solution
Alongside Jazz leadership, we proposed a one-stop-shop streaming service, a single destination for fans of the Utah Jazz. The Jazz already had an app, which had previously focused on news updates and player highlights. We encouraged them to take back ownership of their games and stream through the platform their fans already had, removing the barrier between fans and the games they wanted to watch. The Jazz ran with the idea, building in a deeper digital experience, and created Jazz+, a single subscription that didn't cost hundreds of dollars a year and gave fans the better experience they'd been asking for.
The Outcome
Within its first month in late 2023, Jazz+ had registered over 10,000 users. By early 2024, that number had grown to 20,000. This new approach won the NBA Team Viewership Innovation Award in 2024, and in the years since, Jazz+ has expanded its streaming territory into Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Oregon, Washington, and beyond.
