NBA Hires Mediahub As Its New Media Buying Partner

National Basketball Association (NBA) has signed Mediahub as its new media buying partner.

The agency, which is owned by the Interpublic Group of Companies (IPG), will handle the NBA’s planning and buying duties for the 2020/21 season.

Kantar Media estimated that the division, which also appointed the Cartwright creative agency for the new term, spent $82 million on its media in 2019, and a further $26 million – a figure that would have been much higher if not for the Coronavirus – in the first half of this year. The review into the NBA was conducted in conjunction with strategic advisory group, MediaLink.

The newly launched Cartwright and the NBA have already collaborated, working on the ‘Whole New Game’ promotional campaign after the sport resumed on the back of a COVID-19 break.

The NBA was to resume the league in December but due to rise in COVID cases and concerns around safety, faced opposition from the National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA), who suggested January as the start date for the new season.