Bucks President Peter Feigin on Thursday appeared on NBA TV’s “NBA Gametime” and discussed how F Giannis Antetokounmpo has helped build and expand the team's brand. Feigin: “You can’t even quantify what’s happened in the last 18 months since he became an All-Star. What has transgressed on international views, on our national audience, on what it’s done for retail sales, on what it’s done for us to really bring back fandom back to Milwaukee, is almost impossible to quantify how accelerated it’s become, and it truly is the Giannis effect” (“NBA Gametime,” NBA TV, 3/8).
UNEXPECTED BOOST: In Indianapolis, Scott Olson noted ticket brokers are "reaping the rewards of an overachieving" Pacers team, as the price of tickets on the secondary market increased nearly 42% from the "beginning of the season to mid-February." Ticket broker TickPick said that the "surge was fifth-best in the NBA on a percentage basis." TickPick Dir of Client Relations Jack Slingland said, "Trading away Paul George, the expectation was that it could be a down year, but they’ve surprised a lot of people" (IBJ.com, 3/7).
ARENA ATMOSPHERE: Clippers President of Business Operations Gillian Zucker said of why interest in the team is still high despite declining TV ratings, “You can experience it if you just come into the arena and see the energy that exists there, certainly that’s a big piece of it. ... The number of people who touch the team, whether it’s through our social or digital channels or who have interaction with us in some way through our Junior Clippers programs or one of our many other programs we have out in our community. While television ratings are certainly important and they are something we do certainly continue to work on, that’s not the end all, be all anymore to where people are invested and what they care about. That’s not the only measurement that exists" (“Bloomberg Business of Sports,” BLOOMBERG.com, 3/8).
