Comments on: NBA In The UK

By: Amit Tailor

Amit Tailor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 14:39:32 +0000

The slow resurgence of the NFL in the uk has shown that these sports do have legs, it will come in cycles. I think a massive promotion around playoffs time can get interest going. Imagine a campaign led by Dwight Howard, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and D-Wade…If you don’t know basketball you probably just said “who?”
But the sport has got a real clutch element to it which is similiar to the Champion’s League. So given the right promotion, people will watch a couple of games, and my bet is that many would enjoy it.

Perhaps an attack on college basketball during march madness would be better as it is more open and exciting.

By: Sundip Tailor

Sundip Tailor — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:50:51 +0000

Good point.

I think particular sports are somewhat woven into the fabric of a society.

It takes something special to change that, e.g if USA won the World Cup but even then football may not become popular in USA

By: John Clark

John Clark — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:03:51 +0000

Basketball has the same problem here that soccer has in the States – the game is played, but there is too much competition from more popular sports. I just don’t think there is room for mass affection for another sport here. Basketball is not new – I remember you could watch highlights from top UK matches on Grandstand back in the day, plus Harlem Globe trotter tour matches, and that didn’t ignite it either, so what’s different now? nothing, I’m afraid.

By: Amit Tailor

Amit Tailor — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:28:26 +0000

The most interesting thing about the NFL games are that the players geniunely like playing in the UK. The problem over it being a regular season game doesn’t seem to matter, and in a 16 game season you’d think it would be a bigger deal. The players have reported that the atmosphere is like the Superbowl and teams are lining up to play in the UK. My bet is that the fans will oblige.

By: Sundip Tailor

Sundip Tailor — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:12:36 +0000

80000 “fans” two years in a row is a good start, but how much is that to do with novelty and how much about genuine interest in NFL?

By: Amit Tailor

Amit Tailor — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:58:35 +0000

The Premier League thrives in Asia, I can not say for sure if the popularity comes from the non-playing public, but there must be a intersection. Basketball itself is a sport which lends itself to a fanbase to the non-playing public as it is quite clear that it is a 6 foot plus club. The NFL product had 80000 at Wembley two years in a row and is set to do the same this year, the fan base is growing.
I expect the local leagues to grow in popularity, but not to the extent to which it can compete. The task of growing UK’s talent pool will be much tougher than growing the UK’s fan base. It was an objective of London 2012 to do the former, but I have my doubts.

By: Sundip Tailor

Sundip Tailor — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:45:57 +0000

The process of igniting a big interest in a particular sport could take generations.

Bear in mind that the sports schoolchildren participate in, determines the popularity of a sport in a particular region of the world.

Even if the whole NBA came, I think the impact would dwindle away quickly.