LONDON – The National Basketball Association (NBA) today announced that the 2023-24 regular season delivered record-breaking engagement in Europe and the Middle East (EME) across the NBA App, NBA League Pass and the league’s 18 localized social media accounts in EME. Highlights include:
NBA EME Social and Digital Platforms
• The NBA had its most-viewed season ever across the league’s social and digital platforms in EME, surpassing 1 billion video views in the region for the first time. More than 700 million views came from the league’s accounts in Europe alone, the most among the major U.S. professional sports leagues in Europe this season.
• The league’s 18 localized social media accounts in EME, which feature content in eight languages, generated a 100% year-over-year increase in views.
• Social media followers for accounts in Europe increased by more than 50% year-over-year.
• Four Europeans were among the 10 most-viewed players globally on NBA social media this season:
–Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs; France; 1.3 billion views; 3rd overall)
–Five-time NBA All-Star Luka Dončić (Dallas Mavericks; Slovenia; 1.2 billion views; 4th overall)
–Two-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić (Denver Nuggets; Serbia; 618 million views; 6th overall)
–Two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks; Greece; 558 million views; 8th overall).
• Watch time on the NBA Europe YouTube channel increased by 220% year-over-year, driven by localized content including the weekly show, NBA Undrafted, available in French and German.
• Viewership on the NBA App from fans in EME increased by 39% year-over-year.
Regional Highlights
Below are additional country and region-specific highlights in EME from the 2023-24 season:
• Driven by Victor Wembanyama’s standout rookie season, viewership of Spurs games on NBA League Pass in France increased by 177% year-over-year. His dunk against the Boston Celtics on Dec. 31, 2023, is the second most-viewed video ever on NBA social media.
• Germany has the most NBA League Pass subscribers of all European countries. Driven by the performance of brothers Franz and Moritz Wagner (Orlando Magic), time spent watching Magic games on NBA League Pass in Germany increased by 47% year-over-year.
• In Spain, average TV viewership of “NBA Saturdays and NBA Sundays presented by Experience Abu Dhabi,” which this season features more than 40 weekend games airing in primetime in EME, increased by 48% year-over-year on Movistar. On NBA League Pass, Spanish influencers Drafteados’ alternate in-language stream generated more time spent watching than any non-team specific alternate stream globally.
• Driven by Alperen Sengun’s breakout season for the Houston Rockets, Turkey ranks third among followers of @NBA on X, behind only the U.S and the Philippines. NBA League Pass subscriptions in Turkey increased by 41% year-over-year.
• Driven by The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2023 presented by ADQ, which featured the Mavericks and Minnesota Timberwolves playing two preseason games in October, the NBA Arabic Instagram account generated a 279% year-over-year increase in engagements.
