THE National Basketball Association (NBA) posted solid numbers in the country during the 2020-2021 season, the league had announced.
In data shared to media, the NBA said it experienced continued growth here, including in broadcast viewership and social media consumption.
“Filipinos are among the most dedicated NBA fans in the world, and their continued engagement across TV, social media and retail has contributed to the league’s incredible growth in the Philippines,” said NBA Asia Managing Director Scott Levy in a statement.
The NBA Christmas Day game on TV5 featuring the Los Angeles Lakers and the Dallas Mavericks drew the largest average audience across all measured international markets carrying 2020 Christmas Day games, the NBA said, tripling the previous year’s NBA Christmas Day average audience in the Philippines.
The 2020-2021 season’s most-watched game on TV5, meanwhile, was Game 6 of the NBA Finals between eventual champions Milwaukee Bucks and the Phoenix Suns, which registered an average audience of 4.6 million viewers.
The NBA Finals reached 8.4 million unique viewers per game in the Philippines, the most of any measured country outside of the United States while the average audience for live playoff games was up 21% year over year across TV5 and One Sports.
On NBA League Pass, through July this year, the Philippines ranked No. 2 in subscribers in the Asia-Pacific region.
Game 6 of the First Round of the Playoffs between the Lakers and the Suns, and Game 6 of the Finals featuring the Bucks and the Suns, recorded the most and second-most unique viewers in the Philippines last season, respectively, the league said.
On social media, meanwhile, the NBA’s YouTube Channel featured three locally produced shows geo-targeted to fans in the Philippines, which generated 4.4 million views. The shows, which were posted weekly throughout the playoffs, included NBA On Fire, a localized NBA recap show featuring postseason storylines, player milestones and team updates; Republika Drip, a series showcasing basketball culture, fashion and lifestyle; and Republika Huddle, a series hosting local influencers and sports personalities via Zoom discussing the latest NBA news and events.
Through July 2021, viewers from the Philippines watched more than 37 million hours of content on the NBA’s YouTube Channel, which represents approximately one-third of the total channel viewership during the season, the most of any country outside of the US.
Followers of the NBA Philippines Facebook page, meanwhile, increased 18% year over year, making it the largest regional NBA Facebook page with more than 4.9 million fans.
Through August 2021, the NBA’s Facebook, Instagram and TikTok accounts had an estimated 24 million combined followers from the Philippines, the most of any country outside of the US.
While the pandemic prevented the NBA to do face-to-face engagements, still it managed to stage events although done virtually in collaboration with its 18 marketing partners in the Philippines that help grow the game, including adidas, AXA, EA Sports, Energen Champion, Gatorade, Moet-Hennessy, Nike, Take-Two, Tissot, Under Armour, vivo and Wilson.
One of which is the Jr. NBA Philippines, which hosted two free virtual basketball clinics for boys and girls ages 13-17 across the country on May 29 and June 12.
NBAStore.com.ph, the official online NBA Store in the Philippines, for its part, celebrated its first anniversary on Aug. 6 and was recorded to have delivered product orders to 215 of 228 cities and provinces in the Philippines through July this year.
Mr. Levy said they are excited for what next season holds for the league, which incidentally is celebrating its 75th anniversary, just as he expressed continued commitment to engaging Filipino fans with content to their liking.
“As we embark on our 75th Anniversary Season, we look forward to working with our partners to build on this momentum by providing fans in the Philippines with new and exciting ways to experience the NBA through digital innovations and customized content,” the NBA official said. — Michael Angelo S. Murillo