A spate of recent new distribution deals have made the NBA more accessible globallyNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The NBA is seeing strong international viewership numbers this season, with Christmas Day and League Pass figures both up significantly in several key European and Asian markets. Christmas Day games averaged just over 1 million viewers in the Philippines, a 345% increase compared to '19. In Spain, Christmas Day viewership was up 63%. Viewership of those games in Portugal and Denmark was up 72% and 51%, respectively, year-over-year. Those numbers can be explained in part by "pent-up demand" for basketball amid the pandemic and the unique circumstance of this season’s Christmas Day games coinciding with the beginning of the season, NBA Senior VP/Global Media Distribution & Business Operations Matt Brabants said.
EXPANDING WORLD REACH: The NBA recently has signed a spate of new media distribution agreements with global broadcast partners that appear to be paying off. Those deals have given international fans "greater accessibility to our product than ever before," Brabants said, making it easier for NBA fans in overseas markets to watch games. In the Philippines, for example, the league signed a deal with Cignal TV that puts games on linear TV in the country. The agreement, done in time to have games from the NBA’s Orlando restart this summer air on Filipino TV, had an immediate impact. Viewership for the '20 NBA Finals was up 63% year-over-year in the Philippines, with an average of 4.1 million viewers tuning in to each Finals game, the most of any international market.
GROWING LEAGUE PASS: The NBA also partnered with VIDAA to make its League Pass service available on the global smart-TV platform, giving fans in international markets the ability to stream matches on their TVs instead of being relegated to a mobile device. Average League Pass viewership this season is up 42% internationally compared to a year ago. League Pass viewership for this season’s Christmas Day games was up 54.7% in Italy, 39.8% in the U.K. and 38.9% in Germany, year-over-year. Those gains are due in large part to the VIDAA deal. "Making the product more accessible, especially on the big screen, is paying dividends," Brabants said.
