While basketball may not be as wide played as football here in America, it is still the closest to soccer in being an international sport along with Baseball. The National Basketball Association has followed the footsteps of the NFL and allowed teams to sell ad space on practice jerseys. The NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver stated, “We are operating a diverse business all around the world. The sponsored game jersey is a well-established practice in other countries . Ultimately, I think our fans will come to accept it.” The difference between this and the NFL is that it is explicitely said on an article in the Bleacher Report that many NBA teams are resorting to this because of economic problems. Teams such as the Pheonix Mercury and Los Angeles Sparks in the WNBA have already done so on their game jerseys and the articles states that they have experienced “no anger from its fan base.” Since most teams in the WNBA are also owned by owners of NBA teams, it will not be a surprise if we start seeing advertising on NBA game jerseys soon.
While I dont mind the NBA teams having advertising on their jerseys, I do predict a big fan uproar if they were to begin to put brands on their games jerseys. I know that most fans don’t really care about what the teams put on their practice jerseys because they don’t get to see them or even want to buy them. Most fans would be upse if they had to walk around with a Dallas Mavericks jersey with a big Pepsi logo on the front of it. I do understand that the NBA is very tight on money because of todays economy but selling ad space on game jerseys will do more harm than good in the long run because the fans will not be happy and they are the ones that pay to get into arenas to watch their favorite team play.
Unlike the NFL, the NBA has established a different relationship with advertisement companies aswell. According to the International Advertising Specifications, “NBA.com supports a diverse range of online advertising media types and considers itself a leader of the pack in online sports advertising. The media we support have proven to be effective means of reaching your key audiences in an ever-changing digital landscape.” This is a really good way for the NBA to reach out to its many diverse audience group through online advertisement. In doing so, the NBA doesn’t have to rely so much on sponsors during the league games or on the court sidelines.
In this graph we can see the breakdown of how big the ad size can be and other requirements. This was really interesting to me because when I was reaching for advertisements in the NFL none of this information showed up. I do think that it is a good idea that the NBA is doing this because in doing so it separates itself from other American leagues such as teh NFL, NHL, and MLB. By the NBA allowing ad space on not only their practice jerseys but also on their website (NBA.com), they are able to get the money that they need to continue on successfully without feeling the burden of the economic crisis.
Sources:
2010-2011 Inernational Advertising Specifications. (2010).NBA.com. Retrieved from: http://www.nba.com/adspecs/international_ad_specs.html
Tuohy, Brian. (2009, July 31). Ready For Ads On Your Favorite NBA Team’s Jersey?. Bleacher Report. Retrieved from: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/227688-ready-for-ads-on-your-favorite-nba-teams-jersey
Water, J. (2009, July 30). NBA Plans to Allow Ads on Practice Jersey’s This Yea. Hoop Doctors. Retrieved from: http://thehoopdoctors.com/online2/2009/07/nba-plans-to-allow-ads-on-practice-jerseys-this-season/
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