NBA India’s Sunny Malik on sports’ multi-pronged growth in India

The start of a new year is seen as bringing in new operational efficiencies, stronger strategies, a far greater emphasis on building deep bonds with various stakeholders and consumers. In keeping with the current market ecosystem, technology and a human approach are seen as going hand in hand.

As 2023 kicks off, Adgully has approached key industry leaders to Crystal Gaze into 2023, as part of our annual Trending Now series, to highlight the major trends and developments that they see dominating the industry in the year ahead.

In conversation with Adgully, Sunny Malik, Business Head – Global Content & Media Distribution, NBA India, says, “Overall, it’s been a great start to the 2022-23 season, and we remain bullish about our outlook in India, and we’ll continue engaging our fans in new and creative ways throughout 2023 and beyond.”

Citing a recent report, Malik notes that the sports sector in India is expected to grow 5x to reach $100 billion by 2027. With India being a priority market for the NBA, Malik says that this presents a significant opportunity for it. NBA’s foray into the country has till date presented it with numerous opportunities to explore and further understand the connection between its fans and the brand. All its efforts – whether it is their grassroots initiatives, expanding the availability of NBA games and programming, or bringing authentic NBA experiences to its fans – are focused on growing the game of basketball in the country, and will continue to prioritise this in 2023.

Key focus areas for NBA in 2023

Malik further adds, “Our youth basketball development programs have been and will continue to be critical to our long-term growth in India. Now in its 10th consecutive year, the Reliance Foundation Junior NBA – our grassroots youth development program, which has reached more than 11 million youth and 13,000 physical education instructors across 34 cities nationwide since its launch in 2013 – will soon tip-off for the year across 10 cities, with an aim to reach approximately 5 million boys and girls.”

NBA will also look to increase the number of its NBA Basketball Schools, a network of tuition-based basketball development programs open to male and female players ages 6-18. Currently, the body is offering 33 training programs across 22 locations in 6 cities. At the elite level, NBA will continue to focus on its national scouting program – ACG-NBA Jump – which identifies top prospects across the country to attend NBA Academy India for an opportunity to earn scholarships and sign professional contracts.

“Our goal is to reach NBA fans around the world on the devices and platforms they use most. Through our collaboration with Viacom18 and Prasar Bharati, we will continue to offer fans easy access to both live and non-live NBA, WNBA and NBA G League programming. For the league, direct-to-consumer is also a critically important part of the future of our business. That’s why another focus of ours is to continue building on our reimagined NBA App that was introduced at the start of the 2022-23 season,” Malik adds. Going beyond live matches, NBA will continue producing a variety of original, localised, in-language content to engage fans and connect them with their favourite teams and players. For example, the NBA Weekly Show, which provides fans with a one-stop destination for all things basketball, pop-culture and the NBA.

Malik further says, “With India being one of the fastest growing esports markets in the world, another key focus is to expand our presence in the space. The decision to extend our association with Loco to stream the NBA 2K League in the country is a step in this direction.” On the merchandising front, NBA has witnessed a growing demand for its branded products in India. To expand its reach, presence, and distribution across the country, NBA recently announced a multi-year collaboration with Reliance Retail to launch an extensive range of NBA team and league-branded products on Reliance Retail’s e-commerce platforms and in 400+ Reliance stores across Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities all over India.

“We are also looking to deepen our association with Ranveer Singh, brand ambassador for NBA in India, and grow NBA Style, our lifestyle-focused Instagram platform, which showcases the many ways that the league and its players influence and are influenced by music, fashion, art and entertainment.”