Watching your favorite basketball team's games from another city no longer requires an expensive, season-long subscription package. Beginning next season, the NBA will offer individual, out-of-market games for $6.99. That price gets you streaming rights on smartphones, tablets, and PCs, but it also lets you tune in from any cable / satellite provider that currently offers NBA's League Pass.

That list probably includes whoever you're paying for cable now: Comcast, Time Warner Cable, DirecTV, Dish, Verizon, AT&T, and others already participate in League Pass. So this goes beyond mere streaming and takes on a pay-per-view feel. There is one caveat, though; nationally televised games can't be purchased this way — since anyone can just watch on ESPN or whatever network they're on.

The decision to offer individual games can be seen as the NBA's realization that casual fans probably find the $199 subscription price of League Pass far too costly. Buying single games isn't the only solution that commissioner Adam Silver and league executives have come up with; a new $119 package (also new for the upcoming season) will get you all out-of-market games for a team of your choosing. $6.99 isn't exactly cheap. But if there are certain matchups you're really looking forward to, it could be worth the occasional one-off purchase and will ultimately cost a fraction of going all in on League Pass — or opening a tab at your local sports bar.

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