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Tag: Mark Tatum

  • Emirates names global airline partner of the NBA and title partner of the Emirates NBA Cup

    Emirates names global airline partner of the NBA and title partner of the Emirates NBA Cup

    Mumbai:  Emirates and the National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced a multiyear global marketing partnership naming Emirates the Official Global Airline Partner of the NBA.  The collaboration also makes Emirates the inaugural title partner of the NBA Cup, previously named the NBA In-Season Tournament, as well as the first-ever referee jersey patch partner of the NBA.

    As the first title partner of the Emirates NBA Cup, the global airline will be featured through a co-branded Emirates NBA Cup event logo, with co-branded promotion planned across the NBA’s global social media community and in-arena signage throughout the Emirates NBA Cup Semifinal and Championship games starting next season.

    The Emirates logo will also be featured on all NBA referee jerseys, starting with the 2024 NBA All-Star Game taking place on Sunday, 18 February at 8:00 p.m. ET on TNT.

    “We are proud to establish a global marketing partnership with the National Basketball Association to become its Official Global Airline Partner,” said Emirates Group chairman and chief executive Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum  “This collaboration will also see Emirates become the league’s first referee jersey patch partner and the inaugural title partner of the NBA Cup.  With basketball’s popularity around the world, we are excited to work with one of the most globally recognized and prestigious professional leagues.  The NBA is a valuable addition to our sponsorship portfolio as it allows us to connect with a vast global fanbase, including in the U.S., where the game is an integral part of the country’s sports culture.”

    “Emirates is a world-class airline that shares our commitment to engaging fans around the world in new and creative ways,” said NBA deputy commissioner and chief operating officer Mark Tatum.  “As basketball continues to be recognized as the fastest growing sport globally, this collaboration will showcase the excitement of the NBA to the millions of people who fly Emirates every year.”

    The sponsorship will also allow Emirates to enjoy a presence at other marquee league events, including as a partner of NBA Crossover – an immersive fan event at NBA All-Star – and as the presenting partner of the NBA Finals Legacy Project, which features the dedication of new NBA Cares Live, Learn, or Play Centers in each NBA Finals team market.  Emirates branding will also be visible through virtual in-arena signage and on top of the backboard during nationally televised NBA games, beginning with the 2024 NBA All-Star Game.

    Emirates will engage NBA fans around the world as a partner of select preseason and regular-season NBA Global Games and through the league’s interactive fan events, including “NBA District” and “NBA House.”

    Fans will have the opportunity to watch NBA content on all Emirates flights via the airline’s inflight entertainment system, including long-form documentaries, player profiles, interviews and more.

    The marketing partnership will also allow basketball fans to purchase a wide range of official NBA merchandise, including basketballs, sportswear and vintage collectables, with co-branded collaborations to follow later this year.  The merchandise will be sold at the official Emirates Store at Emirates’ Headquarters in Dubai and online at www.emirates.store, which delivers worldwide.  Emirates Skywards members can also redeem Miles to purchase items from the exciting range.

    Emirates’ patch will also be featured on the jerseys for all referees in the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA), beginning with the 2025 season, and NBA G League, the official minor league of the NBA, beginning with the 2024-25 season.

    The 73 NBA All-Star Game will take place at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana and reach fans in 214 countries and territories in 60 languages on television, digital media and social media.

    Emirates has been a longstanding supporter of basketball in the region for almost 30 years, helping to connect with avid fans of the popular sport in the UAE and Lebanon, and providing a platform to highlight the best and brightest stars.

    Emirates’ global sponsorship portfolio includes partnerships with top sporting clubs, tournaments, high-profile cultural events, and more. Emirates’ association with the NBA will support the airline’s efforts to reach a huge fanbase in the U.S. and worldwide through a shared passion for the sport of basketball.

    Emirates currently offers services to 12 U.S. gateways, including Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH), Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD), Washington D.C.’s Dulles International Airport (IAD), Seattle Tacoma Airport (SEA), Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR), Dallas-Fort Worth Airport (DFW), San Francisco International Airport (SFO), Miami International Airport (MIA) and Orlando International Airport (MCO).

  • Yannick Colaco to step down after six years as managing director of NBA india

    Yannick Colaco to step down after six years as managing director of NBA india

    MUMBAI: Yannick Colaco will step down as Vice President and Managing Director of NBA India, it was announced today by NBA Deputy Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer Mark Tatum.

    Colaco has been in his current role since February 2013.  NBA Vice President of Global Business Operations Diane Gotua will relocate from New York to the NBA’s Mumbai office to lead the business in India on an interim basis and oversee the search for a new Managing Director of the NBA in India.

    “The NBA’s popularity and business in India have seen significant growth under Yannick’s leadership over the past six years,” said Tatum.  “We thank Yannick for his contributions during his tenure as Managing Director and are grateful to have Diane assist with the transition.” 

    “I am extremely thankful to have played a part in the growth of the NBA in India,” Colaco said.  “From broadening the distribution of our games to our plan to bring the live game experience to fans, the NBA’s business in India has never been better. It has been incredible living and breathing the NBA everyday over the past six years, and I look forward to applying my NBA experience as I move onto my next professional challenge.”

    Colaco helped spearhead the growth for the NBA in India, expanding the distribution of NBA games to more than 350 live NBA games each season on SONY TEN 1, SONY TEN 3 and SONY ESPN, including 78 games with Hindi commentary and the introduction of live games that air primetime in India.   Colaco led the NBA’s retail presence in India, with NBA merchandise now available at more than 750 retail stores nationwide and through NBAStore.in.  Colaco was also responsible for partnering with Dream11 to launch the official NBA daily fantasy game, which is projected to have more than 1.5 million registered active users by the end of the season.

    During Colaco’s tenure, he was influential in the formation of the NBA’s partnership with the Reliance Foundation in 2013, which has reached more than 10 million youth from 10,000 schools and trained more than 10,000 physical education instructors nationwide through the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program. 

    Additionally, Colaco oversaw the launch of The NBA Academy India, an elite basketball training center in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR) for top male and female prospects from throughout India and first of its kind in the country, and the NBA Basketball Schools, a network of tuition-based basketball development programs open to male and female players ages 6-18.

    Most recently, Colaco was instrumental for the plan to bring the live NBA experience to fans in India with the NBA India Games 2019, two preseason games scheduled to take place in Mumbai this October featuring the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings.  The NBA India Games 2019 will mark the first games the NBA has played in India and the first games staged in the country by a North American sports league.

  • NBA to hold 2 pre-season games in India next year

    NBA to hold 2 pre-season games in India next year

    MUMBAI: USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) announced that two pre-season games will be played in India in October 2019 which makes it the first North American sports league to make its foray into the country.

    The two pre-season games will be played by Indiana Pacers and Sacramento Kings on 4 and 5 October 2019 at the NSCI Dome in Worli, Mumbai.

    NBA India MD Yannick Colaco said, “Last season of NBA was watched by 120 million viewers. More than 350 live NBA games are available each season on Sony Pictures Network’s sports cluster, including 78 games with Hindi commentary. NBA merchandise in India is widely available like never before, there are 700 retail stores across the country. Our long standing partnership with Reliance Foundation continues to positively impact millions of boys and girls. We launched our first global NBA school in Mumbai in April 2017 and we now have 27 active NBA basketball schools in nine cities across India.”

    Sony is the official broadcaster of NBA in India till 2020 as the extended deal between both is of 5 years that got renewed in 2015.

    NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said, “Being the financial, media and entertainment capital of India we have decided to keep it in Mumbai. In order to fans consuming the product they need to start young and need to play the game of basketball.”

    “I think fans pay for great consumer experience, we see that in cricket. The growth in viewership has been exponentially well. Seven years ago we have 5 million viewers and last season we had 120 million viewers. For us, the time is right because we have invested in grassroot development and facilitating infrastructure,” Colaco added.

    The NBA India Games 2019 will be produced by BookMyShow and AEG and supported by a roster of marketing and merchandising partners.

    NBA commissioner Adam Silver said, “Our inaugural NBA India games will help further tap the enormous basketball potential in a country with a thriving sports culture and a growing, young and engaged population. We thank the Kings and Pacers organisations for participating in this historic event.”

    The youth development initiatives in India, including the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program that has reached more than 10 million youth from 10,000 schools and trained more than 10,000 physical education instructors nationwide since its launch in 2013.

    The ongoing 2018-19 season also includes five consecutive Sunday games from 10 March to 7 April that will air in primetime in India, marking the second straight year that five games will be televised in primetime.

  • Mairu Gupta and the art of building the NBA in India

    Mairu Gupta and the art of building the NBA in India

    MUMBAI: For basketball fans worldwide, the US National Basketball Association (NBA) represents the mecca of the sport. But in India, the NBA has had its task cut out, what with cricket presenting a near impenetrable line of defence as far as Indian audiences are concerned. However, the NBA has been making steady breaks over the past five years and has forged partnerships with the likes of broadcast network Sony Pictures Network India, schools where it has set up basketball training centres, and introduced a fantasy game.

    It has set an ambitious goal to make it the number two sport in the country, a goal which even it knows is not going to be a cakewalk as the investment required is huge. “The NBA is more popular in India than ever before and basketball has become one of the fastest growing sports in India among both boys and girls. Last season (2016-17), we reached a record number of 125 million fans for NBA programming on TV across India,” says NBA India senior director global media distribution Mairu Gupta.

    The association has been upping the hours of programming it puts out on Sony Pictures Network India – its broadcast network partner. 14 live games a week with English commentary have been aired on Sony Six and Sony Six HD throughout this season, and more than 80 games with two games every weekend with Hindi in-game commentary have started getting airtime on Sony Ten 3 and Sony Ten 3 HD from this season.

    Then the sport has been getting a lot of traction on buzzing outlets such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. Says Gupta: “The digital footprint is an important part of the fan acquisition and engagement strategy in the market and we have clocked a billion impressions on social media platforms. Digital remains a priority as we understand that many of our fans are mobile-first and consuming the content through new media. . Our fan base has doubled across social media assets last season and we have had over 160 million video views through last season.”

    NBA live streamed a game via Facebook live for the first time on 8 January last season between the Sacramento Kings and Golden State Warriors. The game reached two million unique fans on TV and attracted over 0.3 million views on Facebook as per the data provided by NBA.

    It is also apparently attracting north Indian viewers. The tournament was simulcast on Sony Ten 1 and Sony Six which drew 9 million all-India viewers and delivered a HSM (Hindi speaking market) contribution of close to 50 per cent.

    China is one of the NBA’s biggest markets outside the US. Its aim is to make India edge up to the former’s levels. The association has taken leaps in hooking Indians to this game. Right from setting up centres in schools to introducing a fantasy game, it has progressed since it launched here five years ago. NBA officially announced the opening of India’s first academy on the outskirts of Delhi on 9 May 2017.

    “Basketball is a niche sport in India, hence needs a lot of marketing and promotional muscle to be put behind it. Then there is the need to have as many courts as possible so that young people can join in and take a shot at basketball just like cricket can be played anywhere,” says a media observer.

    It is hoping to catch them young and make them learn about the sport, its stars and interact with it a lot more. For this purpose, it has partnered with
    Indian fantasy gaming company Dream11 to launch a free-to-play NBA fantasy game.

    Globally, basketball is the second most followed sport on Facebook, ranked by the number of people who follow at least one page connected to the sport, with cricket in fourth place. According to Meltwater, an online media intelligence company, football was the subject of 8.5 million new articles from 21 February 2016 to 21 February 2017, a third of the total number of all sports. Basketball was second, with 4.25 million, while cricket had 1.6 million – 6 per cent of the total, which was below baseball, tennis and rugby.

    Looking at the numbers on Facebook Live for the NBA in India, Mairu has rolled out a special NBA India mobile app. Says he: “Starting this season, we’ve launched an enhanced mobile app for fans in India providing lighter and faster access. The app provides fans in India with localised content, an enhanced user experience and reduced size. It supports low-bandwidth options to help users minimise their data consumption.”

    Amongst the customised shows figures the weekly highlight show – NBA Weekly, which focuses on the lifestyle and culture of basketball; NBA Hangout for which it has partnered with TVF and Sony Six. It airs the daily 30-minute game recaps which have been broadcast during prime time during the season.

    Says Gupta: “India is a priority market for the NBA and we are committed to growing the game and our fan base. We work with partners across programmes to ensure maximum amplification around our initiatives- be it with Reliance Foundation, India on Track, Jabong, Jack & Jones or Gatorade.”

    Diehard hoopsters would surely approve.