• by Mark Walsh  @markfwal, October 28, 2013

Samsung’s got a basketball jones. The U.S. arm of the Korean electronics giant and the NBA on Monday announced a wide-ranging partnership that will include use of Samsung devices during games and other league events, as well as TV and online and offline sponsorships.
 
The splashy deal, reportedly worth $100 million, underscores Samsung’s heightened marketing efforts over the last two years to challenge Apple’s status as the top smartphone and tablet maker in the U.S. market. Its TV spots have made fun of Apple fanboys and during the Super Bowl, famously featured a cameo by LeBron James.
 
Under its multi-year agreement with the NBA, Samsung will become the official handset, tablet, television and Blu-ray player for the league, the WNBA and the NBA Development League. It will also be the official streaming video box supplier to the NBA brands.
 
Perhaps the most novel aspect of the deal involves fans seeing league officials reviewing close calls courtside on Samsung tablets throughout the season. The NBA will also use Samsung devices during high-profile events including the All-Star game, the playoffs, the Finals and the televised NBA Draft (sponsored by State Farm).
 
In addition, Samsung will create customized content for NBA League Pass -- its out-of-market sports package -- as well as having what it calls a “significant presence” on NBA game telecasts on ABC, ESPN, and TNT, and digital properties including NBA.com and NBA Mobile. It will also be presenting sponsor of NBA TV’s “NBA Inside Stuff.”
 
The NBA previously had television and computer deals with Chinese appliance maker Haier Group and Hewlett-Packard, according to The Wall Street Journal.
 
For Samsung, the hope is that buzz generated through association with the NBA and its stars like LeBron James translates in ever-increasing sales and cachet to match arch device rival Apple. In that vein, Samsung earlier this year enlisted rapper and Brooklyn Nets owner Jay Z to announced his latest album during a Samsung spot airing during an NBA Finals game.
 
While Samsung is now the No. 1 smartphone make globally, the latest data from comScore showed the manufacturer still trailed Apple by a wide margin in smartphone market share at 40% to 24% as of July. And while the iPad remains the top-selling tablet, Samsung has been eating into Apple’s lead there with its Galaxy Tab and Note devices.