FIBA has announced a massive leap in digital properties for 2017 with the sport’s governing body also showcasing a significant rise in social media activity.
With FIBA taking advantage of the growing number of fans watching game highlights from the international calendar plus the flagship club tournaments led by the Basketball Champions League, they not only continued that trend but also made the game available in full so that supporters can relive every second.
More fans are able to watch live games. with FIBA announcing an increase of 500 games for a total of 1,700 were made available on Social Media, with national federations, players and media able to show them.
The open distribution of live games brought with it many more viewers of games, with a perfect example of this being the 800,000 social media live views for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup clash between the USA and Italy.
FIBA also empowered fans by offering them the opportunity to comment on the games after teaming up with the innovative technology Spalk.
But it was the social media that had FIBA buzzing the most for its supreme digital improvements for last year. In total 2.5 billion impressions on social media serves as a strong indication of the high-level consumption that FIBA’s content is generating.
In only two years, followers of FIBA’s platforms have more than doubled, increasing from five million to 13 million. The launch in 2017 of four apps – Eurobasket, Basketball Champions League, Basketball World Cup and EuroLeague Women – proved hugely successful with more than 335,000 downloads.
“Successfully using digital to deliver audience growth, engagement and revenue is something that only comes with a high level of what we call Digital DNA,” said Richard Ayers of Seven League – a specialist sports digital agency which works with Europe’s leading sports bodies and professional teams.
“Although we don’t work with FIBA, we have been keeping an eye on their progress and it has been great to see an international federation really driving their own development across a range of digital products and services. In particular, the live streaming efforts and their DIY platform is a testament to an internal drive to maximise the opportunities available for the benefit of the sport.”
