Is Basketball Slowly Replacing Soccer As Top Global Sport?
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Writer Says Basketball In China Represents
"One Of The Most Stunning Marketing Coups" |
The English Premier League (EPL) is the "embodiment of sporting globalisation," but in recent years the popularity of soccer has "plummeted, taking down with it the sport's leading brand," the EPL, in favor of basketball and the NBA, according to Julian Borger of the Manchester GUARDIAN. The "meteoric rise of basketball in China almost certainly means basketball has now surpassed [soccer] as the world's leading sport, in terms of the number of active players." The success of basketball in China represents "one of the most stunning marketing coups of our time." Fourteen NBA games are broadcast live every week on state TV and 51 regional stations in the country. In January, the NBA set up four offices in China. The contrast with the EPL's fortunes "could not be starker," as the league "does not have an office or a single representative in Beijing." But "a lot of this is not" of the EPL's making, as "some of it is due to chance." Borger: "We are now in the midst of a second round of sporting globalisation. It is a more voluntary affair, requiring willing sellers and willing buyers, so Britain's sporting exports are facing much stiffer competition." It is "not enough for today's professional clubs, leagues and associations to collect subscriptions and ticket receipts -- like any other corporation, they must grow, and that ultimately means spilling over their borders" (Manchester GUARDIAN, 12/6).
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NBA Deputy Commissioner Silver Says
Vote For Obama Was Vote For B-Ball |
BARACK THE VOTE: NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver indicated that President-elect Barack Obama, who has a "global reach greater than [Michael] Jordan's and a popularity rating to outstrip Kobe Bryant, ... could be the best thing that has happened" to basketball since James Naismith invented the sport. Silver: "The way we saw it, a vote for Obama was a vote for basketball." In London, Matt Dickinson noted how much the league can "look to Obama to spread the word is debatable, given that he may have more pressing concerns." But the NBA is "hoping that the President-elect will continue to play as he travels, perhaps even using the game to break the ice." With Obama supported by Cavaliers F LeBron James and numerous other NBAers, the "wider question is how the NBA can make capital out of the fact" that Obama loves basketball. Silver: "I can't see us trying to necessarily exploit it in a marketing way, but just in terms of the imagery and the values of the sport. It is about teamwork, dedication, fitness, bringing people together. Those are Barack Obama's values" (LONDON TIMES, 12/6).
KEYWORD SEARCH: The only U.S. name to make Google's '08 most popular keyword search list in China was NBA, at No. 10. The NBA was the only non-Internet company to make the list, with the others being all popular Chinese sites for news, videos, file sharing and more (IDG NEWS SERVICE, 12/9).
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