MT S2E16 - What does the NBA game in London achieve?

It was interesting to hear that the UK has more NBA League Pass subscribers than any other European country. Yet I believe the NBA is just as big, if not bigger, in some other European countries than in the UK. Anyone care to speculate why? I’d say it might have something to do with the fact other European countries have bigger domestic leagues/teams, so there’s more places for fans to get their basketball fix (i.e. less reliance on the NBA). What do you think?

Just checked, it certainly said NBA League Pass has more UK subscribers than any other European country. I’m not saying that’s correct, but that’s what was said on the podcast.

I agree with this. Bbl game night breaks are geared towards raffles and sub standard dance routines (not all are awful). I’m biased but the game night experience is the best at the pavilions imo but fully understand it is a concert venue and can support the lights music etc. Do you think the die hard fans and rivalries are in the minority because it is marketed as a family friendly sport?

What seemed a missed opportunity to me was at the game there were no advertisements for either of the London teams or the playoff final at the o2.if you've got people there who haven't seen the bbl it could have been used to promote it.

The nba seems to not let british basketball promote themselves at the games as it is a comflict of interest. They didnt doit pre 2012 at the game in manchester and wont now. End of the day its commercialism in sport sponsorsand money do the talking. They wont let lions or royals do it either. Probably a better idea to almost do some ambush marketing on the underground with posters on carriages and billboards.

Only speculation but a couple of suggestions: Is NBA coverage on TV better/cheaper/more reliable in other countries so no need for League Pass? Are there more Americans in the UK? I think your suggestion of more interest in domestic/European games sounds plausible too.

Nevertheless Basketball is a major sport in Spain and a number of countries in Europe. The debate isnt whether the NBA is number 1 or not, as there is no debate on that matter, but why the NBA games will attract massive numbers in this country compared to the small attendances for domestic Basketball. Nobody is expecting domestic games to be on a par with the NBA games but there is a massive disparity between the two, hence the event culture theory. The guy that sits opposite me at work went to one of the NFL games at Twickenham but isnt the slightest bit interested in American Football in this country.

Interesting point. And I personally am guilty of attending an NFL game in the UK having never watched any American Football before in my life. In fact I had to research the rules before I went! I went because I wanted to experience the atmosphere of the sport, not because I was an American Football fan. There’s no doubt the NBA London game has the same ‘issue’ (if you can call it that). And in my defence I do now watch the occasional NFL game (but admittedly have made no effort to seek out the domestic league).

I assume this is no unique issue though. Whilst I was in LA a few years ago I saw a football (soccer) game being promoted featuring a Premiership team, maybe Man Utd, I can’t remember. But I suspect the popularity of that Premiership game far outweighed the popularity of a typical MLS game.


So to take it back to an earlier point, in an ideal world the ‘giants of the sport’ (NBA for basketball, the Premier League for football etc.) should have a responsibility to use their status to grow their sport in countries where perhaps it’s a minority. But when these giants are private multi billion pound organisations, with the sole purpose of making more money – why would they? Other than some sort of moral code, why should the NBA promote the BBL? It wouldn’t benefit them in the slightest, in fact it could risk losing them a few fans. So whilst I don’t like it, I can completely understand why the NBA has no interest in promoting the BBL.