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Tag: Yannick Colaco

  • Significant viewership & fans in east and south India, not just north: NBA

    Significant viewership & fans in east and south India, not just north: NBA

    MUMBAI: Basketball, as a sport, has grown by leaps and bounds in the country. In an exclusive discussion with indiantelevision.com, National Basketball Association (NBA) India managing director (MD) Yannick Colaco revealed his plans and ideas on how the game can be taken to the next level.

    The MD shared his thoughts on making basketball a pan-Indian game, explaining, “I don’t think it is only concentrated in north India, contrary to the general idea. Looking at the broadcasting consumption, it’s not restricted to northern states as we’ve got significant numbers and ratings from the east and some of the best basketball teams in the country come from the southern states.”

    The MD stated that he wants basketball to become the No. 2 sport in the country, a task which needs some working for now. With Sim Bhullar and Satnam Singh’s foray and exploits into NBA, the country is tapping into its talent for such inspiring stories.

    public://Satnam--Bhullar.jpg
    Sim Bhullar and Satnam Sing

    Talking about 2016 as a whole, Colaco said that the year was defined by two key events. “The first one will obviously be the official launch of nba.com in India, which saw significant consumption online in the Indian market. The second one will be the continuation of localising our global product — basketball, easing the way we present the game, and ‘Around the Hoop Show with Sony Six’ which got good numbers in terms of audience as  well.”

    On his plans to boost the game in 2017, the executive said, “We don’t look at it on a day-to-day, month-to-month or year-to-year basis. We want to see basketball as the No. 2 sport in the country. It’s not going to happen in a few months, it is going to take a while and a lot of investment. We will continue to make the attempts and we are committed to the game in the long term.”

    About the importance of growth at the grassroots, the MD also said that the organisation was working at that level and it was very important for the diversified growth of the game throughout the country.

    On whether basketball has an edge over other games, the former CEO of Nimus Sports said, “It’s a pretty simple game. You don’t need complex equipment or tracks of land. There are no complex rules and all you need is a flat surface, a ball and a hoop. You can play alone; you can play with five people, a 3-on-3 or 1-on-1. The only other game which is similar in this sense is football, but it still needs a lot of space.”

    The game certainly has seen a growth trend in the last few years and can become one of India’s most watched and played if the growth remains constant. Work at the grassroots level has been one of the defining factors for basketball in India, owing to which a lot of new players have come to the fore as passion builds.

  • Significant viewership & fans in east and south India, not just north: NBA

    Significant viewership & fans in east and south India, not just north: NBA

    MUMBAI: Basketball, as a sport, has grown by leaps and bounds in the country. In an exclusive discussion with indiantelevision.com, National Basketball Association (NBA) India managing director (MD) Yannick Colaco revealed his plans and ideas on how the game can be taken to the next level.

    The MD shared his thoughts on making basketball a pan-Indian game, explaining, “I don’t think it is only concentrated in north India, contrary to the general idea. Looking at the broadcasting consumption, it’s not restricted to northern states as we’ve got significant numbers and ratings from the east and some of the best basketball teams in the country come from the southern states.”

    The MD stated that he wants basketball to become the No. 2 sport in the country, a task which needs some working for now. With Sim Bhullar and Satnam Singh’s foray and exploits into NBA, the country is tapping into its talent for such inspiring stories.

    public://Satnam--Bhullar.jpg
    Sim Bhullar and Satnam Sing

    Talking about 2016 as a whole, Colaco said that the year was defined by two key events. “The first one will obviously be the official launch of nba.com in India, which saw significant consumption online in the Indian market. The second one will be the continuation of localising our global product — basketball, easing the way we present the game, and ‘Around the Hoop Show with Sony Six’ which got good numbers in terms of audience as  well.”

    On his plans to boost the game in 2017, the executive said, “We don’t look at it on a day-to-day, month-to-month or year-to-year basis. We want to see basketball as the No. 2 sport in the country. It’s not going to happen in a few months, it is going to take a while and a lot of investment. We will continue to make the attempts and we are committed to the game in the long term.”

    About the importance of growth at the grassroots, the MD also said that the organisation was working at that level and it was very important for the diversified growth of the game throughout the country.

    On whether basketball has an edge over other games, the former CEO of Nimus Sports said, “It’s a pretty simple game. You don’t need complex equipment or tracks of land. There are no complex rules and all you need is a flat surface, a ball and a hoop. You can play alone; you can play with five people, a 3-on-3 or 1-on-1. The only other game which is similar in this sense is football, but it still needs a lot of space.”

    The game certainly has seen a growth trend in the last few years and can become one of India’s most watched and played if the growth remains constant. Work at the grassroots level has been one of the defining factors for basketball in India, owing to which a lot of new players have come to the fore as passion builds.

  • Reliance Foundation expects enhanced reach with jr. NBA program

    Reliance Foundation expects enhanced reach with jr. NBA program

    MUMBAI: Reliance Foundation and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced today (9 December 2015) that it expects to engage more than 1.5 million boys and girls and 2,700 physical education instructors and coaches in 2015-16 edition of the comprehensive youth basketball initiative.

     

     Returning for the third consecutive year, the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program will nearly double its number of participating cities, expanding from eight to 14.  The program will take place in Ludhiana, Chandigarh, Jalandhar, Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kottayam, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Jaipur, Lucknow and Hyderabad. The program started in September 2015 and will run until March 2016.  

     

    “We are delighted that the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program is expanding to more cities and reaching more children. This program has used the sport of basketball to greatly impact the lives of Indian children.  We are grateful to the NBA for sharing their world-class expertise and resources, and to the schools, coaches and physical education instructors who continue to support this initiative” said Reliance Foundation head Jagannata Kumar.

     

    NBA India VP and managing director Yannick Colaco added, “The Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program continues our goal of providing Indian youth with a platform to stay active and learn the values of basketball, including leadership, teamwork, and healthy living. On the heels of Sim Bhullar becoming the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA and Satnam Singh becoming the first Indian-born player to be drafted into the NBA, children in India are as excited as ever about trying the game, and the growth of our program will ensure we get basketballs in the hands of even more boys and girls across the country.”

     

    The program, which remains free for participants, will include a train the trainer initiative for local coaches, in-school basketball clinics, elite training camps and finals in each city featuring 3-on-3 and 5-on-5 competitions.  NBA International Basketball Operations staff will be based in each of the cities for three months to oversee the program.  Each participating school will receive essential equipment to encourage and facilitate participation among its students, including an India-specific coaching guide with curricula for in-school and after-school programs, basketballs, cones, and a Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA poster.  In addition, each participating city will host three youth oriented basketball festivals featuring mini hoops for kids aged 6-10.

     

    More than 1 million youth in over 1,000 schools across nine cities have participated in the program since its launch in 2013.  In addition, more than 15,000 basketballs and 300 basketball rims have been distributed and installed through the program, and NBA International Basketball Operations staff has trained more than 2,000 physical education teachers across the country.

     

    NBA Legends Bruce Bowen and Muggsy Bogues, WNBA All-Stars Tamika Catchings and Swin Cash, and Sim Bhullar, the first player of Indian descent to play in the NBA, have all travelled to India to support and participate in the program.

     

    Prospective participants, including children, parents, coaches and schools, can visit rf.jrnba.com for program information, including training resources and tips on staying fit.

  • NBA extends broadcast partnership with Sony Six

    NBA extends broadcast partnership with Sony Six

    MUMBAI: National Basketball Association (NBA) and Multi Screen Media (MSM) have announced an extension of their partnership. It will provide up to 14 live NBA games per week on the channel. The partnership was first announced during 2010-11 NBA season. 

     

    With expansion of the partnership, Sony SIX will broadcast up to two regular-season games per day, in addition to NBA All-Star, the playoffs and The Finals.  Sony SIX will also create customized lifestyle-oriented, off-the-court programming from the NBA, Sony entertainment and Bollywood. 

     

    Sony SIX and KIX business head Prasana Krishnan commented, “Our partnership with the NBA has seen basketball become the fastest growing sport in India over the last few years. This clearly indicates that the TV viewing audience for the NBA will continue to rise. The launch of our customized local LIVE NBA wraparound program will also bring sports fans closer to the on-court action.”

     

    NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco asserted, “We are excited to extend our partnership with Sony SIX to continue delivering comprehensive coverage of the NBA to our fans. The popularity of the NBA continues to grow and, through the diversity of NBA programming on Sony SIX, we will continue attracting and engaging with existing and new viewers alike across India.”

     

    Sony SIX will continue to broadcast daily and weekly NBA highlight shows and integrate daily content from NBA TV, including team previews and recap shows.  The daily 30-minute highlight programs will be broadcast in prime time every day of the season.  The weekly highlight shows, hosted by a local anchor, will recap all the happenings around the NBA during the past week. 

     

    For the first time in India, the NBA and Sony SIX will introduce a customized, local live NBA wraparound program every weekend throughout the season, bringing viewers closer to the game.  The program will be hosted by a panel of basketball experts that will provide analysis and insight on all of the latest NBA news.

     

    The NBA and Sony SIX will focus on the development of basketball in India, beginning with the return of NBA Jam on 24 October.  With expansion of the partnership, more NBA players, legends and dance teams will visit India throughout the year.

     

    The coverage of the 2015-16 NBA season by Sony SIX will begin 28 October 2015.  

  • NBA India sees 200% jump in e-commerce sales

    NBA India sees 200% jump in e-commerce sales

    MUMBAI: Basketball, which introduced breakfast viewership in India, is growing at a rapid pace in all departments. From the beginning the National Basketball Association (NBA) India had a long-term vision to grow the game and build the league’s fan base in the market. It initiated many grassroots programmes to build on ground attraction and plans to extend the base and reach by expanding it to multiple cities.

    What’s more, the growing venture NBA India, which is still exploring various opportunities to generate revenue, has seen a 200 per cent jump in its e-commerce sales over the last one year. The NBA’s primary business lines globally are media, sponsorship and merchandising.

    Speaking exclusively to Indiantelevision.com, NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco says, “We continue to work with our global and local merchandising partners to bring the best NBA merchandise to our fans. We launched NBAStore.in, our local e-commerce site in partnership with Jabong, a little over a year ago and the response has been amazing. NBA merchandise has been delivered to over 400 cities across India and our e-commerce sales have grown 200 per cent over the last year. The league will continue to engage with like-minded brands to create partnerships to grow the game and bring the NBA experience closer to our fans. We currently have fantastic partnerships with Reliance Foundation, Jabong, adidas, Samsonite, Nike and SAP.”

     

    Plans for 2015-2017:

    Sharing his vision Colaco throws light on the plans to improve the sport’s reach and viewership in the country. “Over the next three years, the NBA will continue to grow the game and deliver NBA experiences and content to our fans across the country. We plan to expand our grassroots programs to more cities so that the youth across the country can learn and enjoy the game. We will continue to train coaches across India and provide them the tools and resources to grow the game in their communities.”

     

    Viewership:

    Multi Screen Media’s (MSM) sports venture Sony Six is the official broadcaster of NBA in India. 61.8 per cent of All India 1 lakh + television audience in India has the opportunity to see Sony Six. The viewership rating has witnessed constant growth in recent past and finals of 2015 secured the most. “Our partnership with Sony Six in India has been fantastic. Viewership of the NBA has skyrocketed in the last few seasons due to their commitment to bring two live games per day and other compelling NBA programs to our fans. Viewership of NBA programs increased significantly over last and our fan base on social media has grown 400 per cent in the last year,” says Colaco.

     

    Aspirations of youth and initiatives taken by NBA to support it:

    “There is great appetite for high quality basketball programs from schools, coaches, parents and youth across the country. These initiatives are essential because basketball is a great form of exercise and teaches youth important life lessons such as teamwork, discipline, sportsmanship and communication. Over one million youth have participated in the Reliance Foundation Jr. NBA program since 2013 and over 1,000 coaches have been trained across eight cities. In addition, over 15,000 basketballs have been donated and 300 rims installed at participating schools. We anticipate these figures to double as we expand the program later this year,” asserts Colaco.

     

    Satnam Singh’s inclusion in NBA draft:

    Recently India born Satnam Singh created history by getting a place in NBA as The Dallas Mavericks introduced 19-year-old as the first-ever Indian NBA draft pick in Dallas. And that can enthral tremendous energy in basketball aspirants in India. On Singh’s inclusion and its influence on the youth, Colaco says, “Our hope is that Satnam’s story will continue to inspire youth across India to participate in our great game. We will provide fans in India the opportunity to follow Satnam’s journey by showcasing his experiences across our digital and social media platforms as well as on Sony Six.”

    In India most of the basketball courts are used to play cricket, skate or play football, now it remains to be seen if Colaco and his team manages to popularise basketball and drive the youth’s interest to the sport.

  • Sony Six looks to chase viewership and not brands for NBA

    Sony Six looks to chase viewership and not brands for NBA

    MUMBAI: With the National Basketball Association (NBA) telecast rights for the season in its kitty; Sony Six is taking a distinctive approach towards the sports property.

    While traditionally broadcasters chase brands to rake in ad sales revenue from its big-ticket sports franchises, Sony Six is looking at pulling in viewers for the game, which is telecast early morning on the channel.

    The channel is all set to premiere the NBA Finals featuring the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers and the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors. The NBA Finals is the championship series of the 2014–15 season of the NBA and the conclusion of the season’s playoffs.

    Speaking on the channel’s strategy to grow ‘breakfast viewership’ for the game in India, Sony Six and Sony Kix EVP and business head Prasana Krishnan tells Indiantelevision.com, “We are in the developing process now and the prime goal is not to get brands and sell inventory at this stage. Currently, we are concentrating on developing a substantial following for the sport, which will help us in the long run. We are looking at a long-term deal with NBA India and the key is viewership now. I believe it’s better not to sell instead of selling at a low rate.And that’s the reason why we never went aggressively to sell. That is not our priority at this stage.”

    Speaking about the final, Krishnan says, “Overall it has been a great season for NBA fans as uncertainties orchestrated the season. Ecstasy, agony, passion… everything was there in the series so far and if the final goes to the 7th game it will be a perfect ending for us as a broadcaster because viewers will have a worthy treat.”

    Breakfast viewership is a relatively new concept and NBA India in association with Sony Six has been pushing aggressively across different mediums to promote it.

    Upbeat about the finals, NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco says, “The love for NBA in India is growing at a brisk pace and the finals will certainly help it.We have launched various social media campaigns to garner as much traction as possible. We have also organised breakfast viewing get together with our clients.So the finals are going to be utterly exciting.”

    Speaking on the growth of the sport in India, Colaco says, “We are growing at triple digit percentile in every aspect whether it is merchandising, social media impressionsor television viewership, which is very encouraging as we see good prospect in long run.”

    While the sport may have a good prospect, it is suffering due to lack of endeavor made to promote the sport feels Madison Media Omega COO Dinesh Singh Rathod. “NBA, which is a part of breakfast viewership is there since a long time but it has been treated as another brick in the wall and no aggressive efforts were made by any broadcasters till date to properly promote a sport like NBA. Timing is another factor that plays a vital role against the development.Cricket too, if played in a time slot like this will face problems and the ad rates will go down. So overall for fans,the NBA final is a treat to watch but from a business perspective I feel lot of hard work has to be done to sell slots at a high rate,” he says.

    This is the first time since 1998 that none of the participants in the Finals are the Los Angeles Lakers, the San Antonio Spurs, or the Miami Heat. Coincidentally, this is also the first NBA Finals to not feature Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, or Dwyane Wade since 1998 and the fifth consecutive NBA Finals appearance for Cleveland teammates LeBron James and James Jones, who both played for the Miami Heat the previous four seasons. The finals feature two teams with title droughts of four decades, with the Cavaliers having never won since their 1970–71 inception and the Warriors’ last title in 1975.

  • NBA India to unveil slew of initiatives to popularise basketball

    NBA India to unveil slew of initiatives to popularise basketball

    MUMBAI: The arena for non-cricketing sports, which saw an expansion last year, is seeing a similar thrust this year too. One of the properties – National Basketball Association (NBA) recently launched a new look to the NBAStore.in along with Jabong. It is the league’s official online store in India that will include new team and player shops, a new spring collection of NBA merchandise, and a large selection of NBA player jerseys to fans in India.

     

    Another of the sports properties – the NBA JAM visited 16 Indian cities last year, which according to NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco drew a good response from over 3,000 teams that participated. At one point, entries had to be cut off as the additional teams could not be accommodated. The winning boys and girls teams from each of these cities went to the final play offs that was held in Pune. Industry sources peg that close to Rs 12 – 13 crore was spent on this initiative at the grassroots level.

     

    “The focus and primary objectives remain the same for us this year. It is to grow the game of basketball and continue to grow our fan base. We achieve these goals of ours through multiple platforms – from our grassroots programs like NBA Jam and the Reliance Foundation (RF) Jr NBA program to providing live and packaged content across media, to making available a wide range of merchandise through our online store; NBAstore.in,” says Colaco.

     

    The Junior NBA programme this year was held in eight cities and reached out to a million kids in the country. 

     

    Colaco goes on to add that NBA India will continue to work closely with its partners in India including Sony, Reliance Foundation, Jabong, Coca Cola, Adidas and Spalding.

     

    Spelling out plans for NBA this year, Colaco says that it will continue to grow the footprint of its grassroots programs to bring NBA experiences to even more fans. “We are also focused on more localised and customised content for our fans in India – on television and digital. We are planning a lot of innovative stuff around content and recently brought on board Mairu Gupta – who specialises in the digital and social media field – to give us added impetus in the space,” informs Colaco.

     

    When quizzed on why he is bullish on the social media domain, Colaco explains, “Social media is important to us as our target audience is primarily under the age of 25. This is the medium for the present and the future for our TA and is consequently a crucial component of our growth plans. In the next three to four months, we plan to launch quite a few exciting initiatives in this space.”

     

    The newly renewed site showcases new collections with more than 350 on and off court products and features a collection of player jerseys offered to fans in India. Jerseys recently added include those of Cleveland Cavaliers forward LeBron James, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, San Antonio Spurs forward/center Tim Duncan and Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard. 

     

    Meanwhile, NBA and MSM had first announced a partnership during the 2010-11 NBA season. This was followed by a multiplayer three year deal thereafter. The contract ends during the latter half of the year and will be up for renewal.

     

  • Abhishek Bachchan to attend ‘NBA All Star’ as goodwill ambassador

    Abhishek Bachchan to attend ‘NBA All Star’ as goodwill ambassador

    MUMBAI: Bachchan junior has been announced as a goodwill ambassador to National Basketball Association (NBA) league.

     

    NBA India managing director Yannick Colaco while addressing a press conference in Mumbai stated, “Abhishek has been most active in promoting NBA in India and hence we are proud to have him as a goodwill ambassador. He will be attending the ‘NBA All Star 2015’ and meeting NBA legends throughout the weekend.”

     

    Bachchan’s journey can be followed on official NBA India’s social media platform. Colaco also announced that AB junior will be the first Indian to play ‘NBA All Star’ celebrity game on 14 February 2015.

     

    Ecstatic Abhishek said, “I am excited and honoured to be attending the league as the first ever All Star ambassador. I know my trip will show fans in India the excitement, energy and athletic ability of the NBA game and its players. Basketball is my first love, and I look forward to supporting basketball’s continued growth in India.”

     

    Recollecting his first encounter with NBA, Bachchan junior said, “It was my father in the early 80’s who took me for a NBA match and that’s where it started. The interest for the game gradually increased and I became a Los Angeles Lakers fan. In 2011 my wife surprised me by taking me for an ‘All Star’ match and it was a great experience. But, I never imagined of playing in a game. It feels great to be the first ever Indian to play in the ‘All Star Celebrity’ game.”

     

    India’s official NBA broadcaster Sony Six business head Prasana Krishnan said, “We will make a documentary focusing Abhishek’s trip and create a programme on it for fans in India. We have been doing a lot of promotional activities to popularize the sport in India. We reached 16 cities last year and we aspire to grow bigger, the viewership is increasing in millions which is an immensely positive aspect.”

     

    While speaking to Indiantelevision.com, Krishnan said, “It’s not just a role of a brand ambassador that he has to play and so if you choose someone who doesn’t know how to play the game then you are in trouble. Abhishek is aware of the sport, he follows it and that’s the reason why he has been chosen. Moreover by associating a celebrity if the game gains popularity in the grassroots level it’s a worthy attempt. Our promotional activity will not be restricted to metros, we will reach villages and smaller towns too.”

     

    The broadcast schedule of Sony Six is

     

    NBA All – Star Celebrity Game February 14 at 5.30 am IST

     

    All Star Saturday Night: February 15 6.30 am IST

     

    64th NBA All Star Game: February 16 6.30 am IST