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 While the NBA has many initiatives to help boost its already strong
global appeal, broadcasts produced in the World Feed Truck and
beamed out to the farthest corners of the earth could be its best
weapon.
A nondescript white trailer, parked across the street from a Toronto
arena on a bone-chilling night where the NBA played its first
All-Star Game outside of the United States on Sunday, is where the
event's signal was sent around the world.
Inside the dimly-lit trailer, producers work feverishly in front of
a wall of TV screens and panels of lit-up buttons and levers to
coordinate a broadcast for the NBA's international television
partners.
The 40-foot (12 meters) windowless trailer is packed
floor-to-ceiling with equipment that emits a constant humming noise
and leaves little space for the 17 people inside to maneuver.
The signal is beamed to TVs, tablets and mobile devices and allowed
the NBA to reach people in 215 countries and territories in 49
languages with the hopes of winning more fans.
The folks inside are keeping a special eye out for ways to enhance
the broadcast for a global audience and are constantly seeking out
replays featuring international players that fans from overseas are
tuning in to see.
"We're never going to be the equal to cricket in India, it's like a
religion in that market, and same for soccer in Brazil," Matt
Brabants, NBA senior vice-president of global media distribution,
told Reuters.
"But we know that if we can start to make inroads that being number
two is a real strong statement in a market like India where you've
got a billion of people."
Some 17 international TV and radio networks from countries including
China, France and Japan did live onsite commentary for the All-Star
Game, according to the NBA, while 13 TV networks from Azerbaijan to
Uruguay broadcast it remotely.
International interest in the NBA heated up 30 years ago in the days
of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and then took off in 1992 when the
U.S. basketball squad known as the "Dream Team" won a gold medal at
the Barcelona Olympics.
That team was the first U.S. Olympic squad to feature active NBA
players and left a lasting impact in Spain, where appetite for North
American basketball has grown ever since despite being many time
zones away.
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"In Spain the NBA is perfect for us because Spanish people don't
sleep so much," Inaki Cano, an NBA commentator for Spanish
broadcaster Movistar+, told Reuters ahead of Saturday's popular slam
dunk and three-point shooting contests.
"We don't sleep because we are watching NBA and our slogan is 'sleep
is for cowards.' We love to have dark circles under our eyes."
To help give European fans a rare chance to watch live NBA action
and still get a good night's sleep, the league ramped up its slate
of Sunday afternoon starts this season, allowing the games to be
aired in primetime for some international fans.
The NBA's efforts are clearly working as 336 international media
members from 40 countries and territories were in Toronto for
All-Star Weekend.
In addition to reaching TVs across the world, the NBA also builds
its brand with programs like Basketball without Borders, which gives
children from countries across Africa, the Americas, Asia and Europe
a chance to learn directly from NBA players.
"For us it's about trying to find out how to create more fans of
basketball. ... we want to figure out how to get more kids dribbling
a basketball," said Brabants.
"The opportunity is immense and we are just scratching the surface."
(Editing by Larry Fine)
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