It is one of the sporting events at the start of the year in France and Europe. The biggest basketball league has relocated two regular meetings to Paris. To attend one of the two matches, the 16,000 spectators at the Accor Arena had to break the bank: around 350 euros per seat on average. An inaccessible price for most American basketball fans, who are however increasingly connected to the content offered by the National Basketball Association (NBA).
Every Thursday evening, after training, the players of a small club basketball from the east of Paris meet up over a drink. This week, the schedule has not changed: they will not attend the meeting of the San Antonio Spurs against the Indiana Pacers, one of the two NBA regular season posters exceptionally relocated to France. Everyone says they had hoped for a more accessible offer. “ They could have at least done something for the basketball federation licensees », Regrets one of them.
These two NBA matches offer European spectators more comfortable times to follow these matches. Because it is also the time difference that makes American basketball matches more difficult to follow. “ When you’re unemployed, it’s easy, because you can watch the match the next morning. But obviously, when you work from 9 a.m. until 6:30 p.m., it’s complicated to watch the matches. But if you’re a real fan, you can usually watch one match a week. For me, it’s my rhythm. I forgot that there is also Sunday evening, it’s a match that starts at 8:30 p.m. So there, it’s affordable for us, we can look. You can also follow on Instagram, you can see all the summaries, the best actions of a match… », explains Fabien, a great American basketball enthusiast.
Relocating will not be enough to conquer a new audience. Adam Silver, boss of the NBA, understood this well: “ I think the NBA Europe will develop largely through various forms of media. We are talking about relocating more matches to Europe, but it is not expandable. That’s nothing compared to our global audience : two billion people on the planet consume the NBA in one way or another over the course of a year. »
According to him, social networks make it possible to cultivate interest in matches. Unlike most leagues soccerwhich lock content, the North American league adopts an opposite strategy. “ Streaming technologies allow us to personalize streams, consumer by consumer, fan by fan. If I want to watch Spurs games and Wembanyama and see everything he does during this match, it’s possible », Details the American leader.
George Eddy would have had a hard time imagining that 40 years ago, when he became the voice of basketball in France, then in Africa on the Canal+ channel. “ When we compare with the first matches I played in the 1980s, these were matches which were played two weeks before and broadcast on delay. Now there are matches every day. It’s a proliferation, thanks to the internet and modern communication. The NBA takes full advantage of it and France too », rejoices the sports journalist.
Illustration with this colossal contract that the NBA has just signed with Disney and Amazon: 76 billion dollars in total for television rights to UNITED STATES over the next 11 years.
Also readBasketball: Frenchman Victor Wembanyama standard-bearer of the NBA in Paris