Bringing the world courtside is how NBA senior exec Benjamin Morel described one of the league’s key priorities. During his keynote speech at SpoBiS on Tuesday, the league’s SVP/MD EMEA talked about the global appeal of basketball and the NBA’s aim to conquer the world. “Our objective is to be No. 1 globally," he said. "We still have a lot of work to do. We need basketball to be the No. 1 sport in the world, which is actually doable. If we can focus our efforts in countries like the U.S., China, Africa, India and be a strong No. 2 elsewhere, we will be No. 1.” While working toward this ambitious goal, the league’s focus remains on the game itself. Morel said that the NBA does not consider itself a media company but a basketball company, and as such it is doing everything it can to continue to protect, enhance and improve the game. This also includes improving the global fan experience. “The best seats in the world of sports are courtside at a basketball game. How can technology give us the opportunity to replicate this for the worldwide audience?” he asked. With more than 100 int’l players in the league, the NBA is as global as ever before. Regular-season games outside the U.S. and Canada have become a regular occurrence and make comments of Commissioner Adam Silver about a potential future European division seem less far-fetched.
DIRK’S HOMELAND: Morel identified Germany as one of the league’s focus markets. Two of the NBA’s biggest partners, adidas and SAP, are from Germany. The NBA hosted three preseason games over the past six years in the country, and, as Morel said, there will be more to come. The NBA is also seeing momentum around its merchandising and digital offerings in Germany. “One of our key priorities right now is identifying local German sponsors to further enhance our voice in the marketplace and build ties around our programming,” Morel said. The NBA has a strong following in Germany, which is in part due to the success of Dallas Mavericks player Dirk Nowitzki. The country is also the highest revenue generating market for the league’s int'l online streaming service, NBA League Pass, according to Morel. Considering Germany’s affection for the NBA, it should not come as a surprise that Morel mentioned Berlin, together with London and Paris, as the key cities to host future regular-season games.
