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The National Basketball Association (NBA), which set up office in Indian back in 2011, has launched its online store as part of its growth strategy in the country. The global basketball body, which runs one of the world's most popular and richest sports leagues in the world, may not be looking at starting a league in India, but has set its eyes on growing the brand in India.
The focus of the association in India is to grow the game of basketball and increase the fan base. In order to achieve this, the NBA has adopted a two-pronged approach -- grassroot development of basketball through events and programmes and providing access to the game on television and social media.
Yannick Colaco, managing director, NBA India explains, "To achieve these goals, we collaborate with partners, across various platforms, like Sony Six, Reliance Foundation, Adidas and Sprite. The online e-commerce platform is another way of reaching out to the fans and engaging them.NBA Store.in will have a range of products including jerseys, footwear, fan apparel, bags, caps, basketballs and unique fashion collections. The most important part of the initiative is its reach -- fans in over 400 cities, towns and villages across India will nowhave access to NBA merchandise with a click of a button"
He adds that these partnership not only help in tapping the potential of different mediums, but also open avenues for co-investment. Even though cricket is the most popularsport in India, Yannick believes that the youth is opening up to the idea of other sports and herein lies the potential of basketball.
"The fundamental of everything we do is centered around the game. We have seen tremendous growth in our fan following, particularly among the youth. Participation in our grassroots events have doubled, our television viewership is up by over 200 per cent and fan following on our social media platforms is up by 450 per cent" saysYannick.
While Colaco refused to discuss any financials regarding NBA in India, he did concede that monetisation of the sport/property is not something that the association is looking at in the short term. The focus right now is to create astrong fan base and brand in India, and monetisation will be looked upon only in the long term.
However, going by the success of the basketball league in its parent territory - North America, the prospects for the sport in India look promising. According to a report by Forbes magazine in January this year, the latest completed season of the NBA raked in $4.6 billion in revenue and the average value of a franchise in the league was $634 million, 25 per cent higher than the value for the previous season. The association was started in 1946 as the Basketball Association of America, it was renamed National Basketball Association in 1949 and today has 30 franchises as part of it. The most valuable team in the league is The New York Knicks ($1.4 billion) and the combined value of the 30 franchises is $19 billion.
Though the NBA is not planning to start a league in India, it is working closely with the Basketball Federation of India to help with the development of the sport. This includes providing training support and helping/advising on planning and infrastructure. Sources close to the federation and its commercial partner IMG Reliance reveal that an Indian Premier League fashioned basketball league may be on the cards sooner rather than later. In such an event, the NBA will continue providing support in whatever capacity it can to encourage and popularise and improve the sport in the country.
Junior NBA programme
For promoting the sport at the school level, the NBA has tied up with Reliance Foundation to launch the Junior NBA programme which reaches out to school children who want to train in basketball. The programme also provides training for coaches who teach at these school. Launched in 2013, the programme reached out to 150,000 students across 200 schools in two cities and in the 2014 pragramme, the association expects to reach out to half a million kids across 500 schools in six cities.
NBA broadcast and NBA Jam
The broadcast rights to NBA games lie with Multi Screen Media and are aired on its sports channel Sony Six.To draw viewership for NBA on the channel, the morning band from 5:30am to 11:30 am is promoted as NBA Mornings with two live NBA games every day. The league had its best ever week in the entire 2013-14 season with 8.4 million viewers tuning into live games in Week 17 (of the tournament). This comfortably beat the channel's previous best figure of 4.2 million viewers in the fifth week during the India-NZ series.
The broadcaster informs that the live NBA games have been seen by over 40 million viewers this current season across India. Sony Six adds that 35 per cent of the viewers are female while 70 per cent from the 15-34 age group. In order to capitalise on the traditional prime time in India, the channel also has a property called NBA in Thirty which condenses the morning's game into half an hour programming. This is aired from 8.00 pm to 9.00 pm (two games per day). The NBA league is also being extensively promoted during the ongoing IPL tournament on Sony Six and Max.
Taking basketball to the audience in the form on a 3-on-3 basketball tournament for school and college students, Sony Six and NBA jointly host one of the biggest basketball tournaments in the country which offers a mix of basketball, music and entertainment. The tournament spreads across India with regional legs and the winners compete in the NBA JAM finale in Mumbai. Last year, over 800 teams participated from four regional rounds showcasing the best basketball action in the shorter format of the game.
