Report: NBA Sponsorship ‘Thriving’, Second Only To NFL, But Tops In Social Media
Wednesday, May 10, 2023 at 07:38PM NYSJ Sports-Entertainment Business News Service
May 10, 2023: Stating that “the NBA sponsorship marketplace is thriving,” KORE, an engagement marketing solutions firm, said the league trails only the NFL in sponsorships but leads in social media engagement.
The 2022-23 NBA Market Intelligence Report looks at key sponsorship insights and social media values, including the top sponsorship market sectors, the NBA's overall social footprint, the top NBA athletes on social media, and the top brands earning social media value through NBA partnerships
The report covered the NBA season through the first round of the playoffs.
"Overall, we've found the NBA sponsorship marketplace is thriving, and the league is second in the United States behind only the NFL in total sponsorship spend," RJ Kraus, KORE head of sponsorship intelligence, said via the New York-based firm.
NFL sponsorship revenue was put at $2.7 billion by global sports and entertainment intelligence platform SponsorUnited and $1.64 billion for the NBA.
“However, when it comes to social media followers and total engagement, the NBA is first among sports in the U.S.," said Kraus.
Overall sponsorship is up +2% year-over-year, and up +11% from 2019, according to the KORE NBA report.
Sponsorship was led by the financial sector, comprising nearly +20% of the market.
That was followed by food and beverage at 15%, and technology at 11%.
“While the overall value of sponsorships was up, the number of deals per team was down -41%, indicating brands were focused on doing fewer deals, but signing longer terms with larger annual spends,” according to KORE.
The NBA’s social side footprint encompassed more than 2.5 billion followers and more than 45 billion video views over the last year — the largest among U.S. sports.
The biggest value drivers across social media are the league and teams.
Combined they drive nearly 95% of the adjusted ad value.
Among teams, the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers dominate social media, combining for 22% of the total followers and 33.5% of total engagement.
According to KORE, Nike leads all brands, earning the most value through social media NBA partnerships, followed by Google, State Farm, KIA and Crypto.com.
Lebron James tops the social media values among players, accounting for 23% of all brand value, followed by Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, and Devin Booker through the first three weeks of the playoffs.
The playoffs have created extra interest in the league, driving 10 million new social followers for the first three weeks of the post-season.
“Video viewership has seen a massive increase (+80%) due to new video formats.
"Among the different social media platforms, Instagram dominates with 80% of engagement and 50% of brand value, but Twitter holds a third of the brand value, better than in other sports,” per the 2022-23 NBA Market Intelligence Report.
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