Brazil keeps rewarding the NBA for its efforts, with more than 59 million Brazilian NBA fans shopping at 32 NBA Stores in the country, making it the league’s No. 1 brick-and-mortar destination in the world. That doesn’t include Brazil’s NBA Store Truck—the league’s only mobile store on the planet—or ecommerce platform LojaNBA.com. Brazilian fans have also given the league a massive media presence through ESPN Brasil, Disney+, Prime Video, the NBA Brazil YouTube Channel, and NBA League Pass.
After 13 years promoting its product in India, the NBA is looking for the same kind of wins from a similarly diverse approach. The first-ever BUDX NBA House takes place June 7 and 8 in Mumbai with guest appearances by five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher, Hall of Famer Gary Payton, and the Sacramento Kings mascot, dunk teams, and dance teams. Budweiser, Brand USA, Emirates, and Visit California are among the brands attempting to connect with the NBA’s more than 6.5 million fans on social media in India, where the league is still making inroads through a broadcast deal with YouTube and a youth basketball development program.
“I will say it’s challenging: The time zone in India is always a bit of a challenge for us, [and] unfortunately, the games are on pretty early in the morning,” Chaudhry said. “Something like an NBA House here helps us to connect those dots. You’ve got your core fans who are going to get up early and watch a game. Maybe not everyone’s going to do that, so this gives them that opportunity to touch and feel what the NBA brand stands for and come at a more friendly time.”
Closer to home
After making its Canadian debut in Vancouver last year, NBA House comes to Calgary from June 5-8 at The Rooftop YYC. Three-time NBA champion Danny Green and 2010 NBA champion Metta World Peace will be in the building, as will activations from brand partners Gatorade, Hennessy, Hisense, Michelob Ultra, and Mitchell & Ness.
The NBA placed the Raptors in Toronto (and the now-Memphis Grizzlies in Vancouver, to lesser effect) 30 years ago. Today, the NBA’s Canadian presence is up to a record 183 million views on the league’s Canadian social channels this season. The league has also developed 676,000 fans in Calgary’s Alberta province alone, the third most in Canada behind Ontario and Quebec.
