NBA Look to Increase Indian Fanbase Through Times Group Deal

A digital partnership has been agreed with India’s largest media house, the Times Group, by the National Basketball Association (NBA) in a measured effort to ramp up its fanbase in emerging markets.

A dedicated NBA section on timesofindia.com will offer daily updates on the latest news and scores under the terms of the agreement, ahead of the NBA Finals that begun last night, May 31, between the Dallas Mavericks and the Miami Heat, with Times Group journalists being flown to the US to cover the action.

The NBA section will offer daily video highlights, photo galleries and articles from NBA analysts, as well as features on the league and its players while the game was broadcast live on Indian television from 6:30am Wednesday on Ten Sports.

The league’s own website already has a dedicated page for India and a number of other countries, including China, where an aggressive marketing push in recent years has helped make basketball popular with a huge fan base.

The digital initiative with Times Internet follows up on several on-ground activities prominent among them being the Mahindra NBA Challenge, a multi-city, community-based basketball league in India.