The National Basketball Association, which is known as the
NBA is considered the most if not one of the most popular sports leagues in the
world. The league is known to having some of the most popular athletes in the
world (Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Yao Ming, and Shaquille
O’Neil) Although these names are well known in United States and are
responsible for bringing in a large amount of revenue for the NBA from their
stardom, these names have been branding the popularity and image of the NBA in
other countries as well.
If you lived in the New England, New York, or better yet the
east coast in 2012, you probably heard of Jeremy Lin. Jeremey Lin, a Harvard University graduate
and a current professional NBA player promoted the NBA’s brand when the “Linsanity”
era emerged. “Linsanity” not only
electrified the state of New York but worldwide, particularly the market in
Asia. At a time where the New York Knicks were playing their worst and Head Coach
Mike D’Antoni had no other choice but to play Lin, Lin exploded averaging over
24 points per game, over 9 assist per game, and helped the team to a 9-3 record
before the All-Star break. Bloomberg
Business states .jpg)
“But Lin is, of course,
more than a second-year point guard. The Harvard-educated Asian American is an
international phenomenon who briefly made the Knicks the center of the sports
universe and drove shares of MSG (MSG) to record highs…Linsanity, one analyst
told Bloomberg News that extra merchandise sales were a ‘single-digit millions’ gain for the Knicks and MSG. More important
than merchandise, says Abrutyn, are television ratings. ‘He drove the
resolution of a dispute they were having on the cable side to get Knicks games
back on the air.” (BloombergBusiness)Lin’s popularity explosion helped the NBA’s image which led to the rebirth of the NBA’s Global Games and various business deals and contracts with various countries. According to Forbes
“The league has built one of the
largest social communities in the world, with more than 278 million likes and
followers. The official NBA, team and
player pages combined across Twitter and Facebook have accumulated more than
226 million likes and followers. In
China, the NBA is the number-one sports league across social media with 52
million fans on the league’s official accounts.
The NBA has enjoyed over 883 million videos viewed on YouTube since
2005. Much of the NBA’s social media
success is driven by international fans, as nearly 50 percent of the league’s
followers on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are international.” (Forbes)
With the NBA being the number-one sports league in China,
the league has already began to reach out to its overseas market with major
business ideas which will expand the association’s growth and worth
drastically. This year the NBA
celebrated the Chinese New Year by creating special jerseys with Chinese
characters for the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, cities with
the biggest Chinese populations in the country. Another step the NBA has made
in expanding its popularity is its new partnership with Tencent. “The National
Basketball Association (NBA) and Tencent Holdings highlighted a five-year
expansion of their partnership that will create the league's largest
international digital partnership…According to a release, as the Exclusive
Official Digital Partner of the NBA in China, Tencent will feature a record
number of live NBA games and deliver enhanced original NBA programming and
highlights.” (Wireless News) With this new contract the NBA will be tapping
into China’s population which consist well over a billion people. “If you're in
any kind of business that wants international outreach, obviously China, with
its emerging middle class, is going to be a huge growth area." (PRI)
Not only has the NBA outreached to China’s media market but
the NBA is developing a130, 000 square-foot structure that cost roughly around
1.5 billion dollars that will include a restaurant, merchandise, store, fitness
center, and multiple full-size basketball courts. By creating opportunities for
younger generations to fall in love with basketball and follow the NBA, Mr.
Levy, a representative that oversees the Jr. NBA program in Asia which gives
underprivileged children the chance to play basketball says “We want more
people to play basketball, because that will translate to more people following
the NBA.” (Sin)
In my opinion soccer still remains the most popular sport
in the world but I think basketball is creeping up behind it. Because the NBA
is beginning to reach out to markets across the world, I think the league will
become the world’s number-one sport. The league has already begun to receive a
tremendous amount of popularity from its ability to market some of its foreign
players Andrew Wiggins (Canada), Ricky Rubio (Spain), Jeremy Lin (Asia), etc.
Ben Boynton from University Wire
states “This season, the NBA has five preseason games and two regular season
games scheduled on foreign soil…Events like the FIBA World Cup and the
basketball portion of the Olympics show basketball truly is a global game.”
(Boynton) Do you think that the game of basketball will become the world’s most
popular sport? What are your opinions on the NBA reaching out to different
markets overseas, particularly China’s? What else do you think the NBA can do
to become more popular?
Works Cited
Boudway, Ira. "What's Jeremy Lin Worth to the Knicks?" Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg, 16
July 2012. Web. 04 Apr. 2015
Boynton, Ben. "NBA Capitalizing on Growing Worldwide Popularity
through Global Games." University
WireOct 15 2014. ProQuest.Web.
4 Apr. 2015 .
Campbell, Bradley. "Why the NBA Is Breaking out Special Uniforms
for Chinese New Year." Public
Radio International. PRI's The World, 29 Jan. 2015. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
"NBA and Tencent Forge Partnership to make Tencent the Exclusive
Official Digital Partner in China." Wireless
News(2015)ProQuest. Web.
4 Apr. 2015.
Sin, Ben. "The New York Times." N.B.A. Looks to Asia for Next
Growth Spurt. The New York Times Company, 14 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
I agree with Zaid that the National Basketball Association is considered the second most popular league in the world behind soccer. It is also in my opinion the second most popular professional sport in America behind the National Football League. There are many reasons why basketball’s popularity has risen enormously in the past 40 years.
ReplyDeleteIt started with two rivals from completely different backgrounds who got drafted to two of the most historic teams in league history. Those players were Ervin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird. Those two player single handedly skyrocketed the popularity of the NBA. A half a decade later a guy named Michael Jordan got drafted to the Chicago Bulls who eventually became the G.O.A.T (greatest of all time). He became the most iconic basketball figure of our generation. He did so much more for the game of basketball then win six championships with the bulls.
Jordan earned an estimated $80 million last year from corporate partners Nike, Gatorade, Hanes, Upper Deck, 2K Sports, Presbyterian Healthcare and Five Star Fragrances. Other Jordan assets include six restaurants, a North Carolina car dealership, a motorsports team and his 80% stake in the Charlotte Bobcats. Jordan out-earns almost every member of the world’s highest-paid athletes 10 years after his last NBA game (Floyd Mayweather topped Forbes June 2012 list with earnings of $85 million).
The Jordan Brand, a division of Nike, is responsible for the vast majority of MJ’s earnings. Jordan partnered with Nike after being drafted by the Bulls out of North Carolina in 1984. The original five-year deal was worth $500,000 annually, plus royalties. The terms of Jordan’s current deal with Nike are a closely guarded secret, but royalties now generate more than $60 million annually for MJ, according to sources.
Nearly 30 years later, the brand is still a marketing juggernaut. It controlled 58% of the U.S. basketball shoe market in 2012, according to research firm SportsOneSource. The Jordan Brand’s parent, Nike, was second with a 34% share, while Adidas (5.5%), Reebok (1.6%) and Under Armour (0.6%) divvied up the leftovers.
Another huge reason why the NBA has and will continue in popularity is because of the growth of the sport internationality. The NBA is the number one sports league in China which is by far the largest populated country in the world. The NBA has made partnerships all across China to raise its popularity. Players like Yao Ming and Jeremy Lin help the NBA’s image enormously. When Jeremy Lin went through his Linsanity phase he drove shares of MSG networks to record heights. The quote that Zaid mentioned that an analysis told Bloomberg news shows how much popularity one player can have on the game. “Extra merchandise sales were a ‘single-digit millions’ gain for the Knicks and MSG. More important than merchandise, says Abrutyn, are television ratings. ‘He drove the resolution of a dispute they were having on the cable side to get Knicks games back on the air.” (BloombergBusiness)
The popularity of the NBA will never reach the levels of popularity of soccer because of its rich world cup tradition but basketball truly has become a global game. More and More international stars will continue to have a major impact in the NBA. One day the NBA might just have international teams in the league!
Work Cited
Sin, Ben. "The New York Times." N.B.A. Looks to Asia for Next Growth Spurt. The New York Times Company, 14 Mar. 2014. Web. 04 Apr. 2015.
Badenhausen, Kurt. "As Stern Says Goodbye, Knicks, Lakers Set Records As NBA's Most Valuable Teams," Forbes 22 Jan. 2014. Web.
Badenhausen, Kurt. "How Michael Jordan Still Earns $80 Million A Year," Forbes 14 Feb. 2013. Web.