By Michael Angelo S. Murillo
Senior Reporter
TWO decades since being eyed by the National Basketball Association (NBA) as one of the key markets to grow its business globally, the league is happy to share that it has been scoring big in the Philippines, chalking up the numbers across various matrix.
It has certainly helped that the Philippines is a basketball-loving country for the steady growth it has been experiencing throughout the years, the NBA said, but it also highlighted that such is a product as well of the conscious effort by the league’s local office to make the NBA more relevant for the Filipino fans.
“Back in the late ’90s, as part of the league’s global expansion, the Philippines had been identified by the NBA as one of our key markets for growth. The NBA felt there was a need to invest in the market with the passionate fan base the league has here and the partners that wanted to work with us. And we wanted to take advantage of that,” said Carlo Singson, NBA Philippines Managing Director, in a sit-down interview with BusinessWorld recently at their office at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig.
Since getting upper management’s nod to commence engagement in the country, the NBA business has grown significantly here, opening new business lines along the way to make it one of the more lucrative and valued markets of the NBA outside of North America.
The brisk business that the league is experiencing had led it to finally decide to open a physical office in the Philippines in 2016, which is one of only four located in the Asia-Pacific region, “to be closer to the market and closer to the partners.”
Apart from revenues, the NBA gauges its success here through other benchmarks, including its fan base, fan engagement and partnerships it has forged.
“Revenue obviously because we are a business and that is one way to measure growth. Another is growing our fan base. It’s already large but there is still room for growth. There is fan engagement. Are we giving our fans what they need? And are they engaging with us? And the partnerships that we have,” said Mr. Singson.
As per data provided by NBA Philippines, the league’s Facebook page has over 7.1 million followers from the Philippines alone, making it the no. 1 country in the world outside of the United States, while the NBA Philippines Facebook is the largest regional NBA Facebook page, the only one with over 3.1 million fans.
Mr. Singson also said that they have been doing well in other social media platforms such as Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
The NBA now has 18 merchandising partners in the Philippines to help grow the game as well as 15 marketing and promotional partners which include adidas, Alaska Milk, AXA, Cloudfone, EA Sports, Gatorade, Globe Telecom, Nike, Panasonic, PLDT and Smart, Rexona, Spalding, Tissot, Under Armour and 2K.
FOR THE FILIPINOS
Mr. Singson said in doing business in the country, part of it is making sure that their target audience relate to what they are offering.
“We are bit lucky with the Philippines because the fans here accept the NBA for what it is. We are a United States and Canada-based league and most of our players are from North America although there are a large number of foreign players as well. They love the NBA here and for us to continue our growth I think we need to make the league more relevant in the Philippines,” Mr. Singson said.
One way they are going about it is making sure that they provide as many games as possible for fans to watch and enjoy.
With help from its television partners — ABS-CBN, FOX Sports and Solar — the NBA is airing more than 30 live games per week right now.
It has also tapped NBA League Pass as a platform that fans can use to consume the games, even coming up with “sachet packages” geared towards the Filipino fans.
“A lot of people watch our games. They are usually in the mornings and sometimes it’s hard for people to watch them live. So we have NBA League Pass which before you had to avail for the whole season or at least half a season which was fairly expensive. So what we did was to partner with the local telcos here to make League Pass available not only through their payment gateways like prepaid cards and postpaid bill but also we created packages which we call ‘sachet packages,’ offering League Pass in small bytes. So now we offer daily passes even single game passes,” said Mr. Singson.
Another way the NBA is catering to the Filipino fans is through the programs they have been coming up with, particularly through the Jr. NBA program and NBA 3X.
“Jr. NBA and NBA 3X allow Filipino fans to not only showcase their basketball skills but also do it within the context of the sport they love and within the context of the NBA which gives them an extra push and elevate the passion that they have,” the NBA executive said.
To date, Jr. NBA Philippines has been running for 11 straight years, reaching more than 1.7 million players, parents and coaches since 2007.
Still another way of engaging the Filipinos is through activities for the Filipino Heritage Week that started in 2017 and celebrates the Philippines’ vibrant culture and the millions of Filipino basketball fans worldwide.
DEVELOPING FURTHER
Looking ahead, Mr. Singson said there are still a lot to be excited about the NBA here in the Philippines, reaffirming their commitment to develop their thrust both from a basketball perspective as well as from a business standpoint.
They want to continue their existing programs, further cultivating appreciation and pickup of basketball from the grassroots level all the way up, as well as on the business side, exploring opportunities in retail and merchandising, E-sports and other digital products.
Asked where the NBA figures in the myriad of things happening in the Philippines right now, Mr. Singson said the NBA is “very optimistic and excited” that it would continue to grow in it.
“Economy-wise we have been riding this train of growth and we hope it continues,” he said.
Adding, “Speaking for the region overall I think the league is very excited about the entire region of Southeast Asia and the rest of Asia, including Japan and Australia. In the last couple of years we have signed big and exciting deals with major organizations in those markets… When the NBA looks in this region they have reason to be excited, particularly the Philippines, which is one of the few markets where we can replicate the business of the NBA in the US.”

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