Background

The NBA is among the world’s most respected professional sports leagues.  However, after experiencing several consecutive years of declining network television ratings and some high profile negative publicity surrounding certain NBA players, senior executives at the NBA had become concerned about the impact these would have on upcoming television contract negotiations.  In fact, the current contracts would expire in just over a year and League executives worried that its relationships with viewers and fans might be slipping.  As a result, they retained Chris Malone and his firm to help develop new brand relationship strategies that would improve the League’s image, increase viewership and secure increased television rights fees.

The Solution

The first order of business was to conduct a thorough review of all NBA broadcast data, programs and strategies currently in place to gain a fact-based understanding of their current situation and how they had arrived there.   Next brand relationship interviews with nearly a thousand television sports viewers were completed to identify strategies and tactics that would build the League’s image and broadcast viewership.

Through this analysis, key segments of NBA viewers were defined and issues that were discouraging more frequent broadcast viewership.  To address these, new community service, marketing and public relations strategies were recommended that would improve the image of the League and its players, while also proposing a new course for how to build a stronger brand relationship with viewers in future broadcast contracts.

Business Results

After internalizing the insights and recommendations Chris provided, the NBA undertook aggressive community relations, player code of conduct and image building initiatives that significantly improved its reputation and brand relationships with fans.  In addition, as a result of its new strategic plan and direction, the league was able to achieve a 25% increase in broadcast rights fees in its next television contract, despite previous declines in viewership.

“The engagement that Chris Malone led and delivered for us at NBA helped us better understand the brand relationship that our fans have with our teams and players, as well as led us to some significant changes in strategic direction for our League.  The insight and advice he provided was very valuable and I can confidently recommend him to any firm seeking growth from stronger brand relationships with its customers.”

Gregg Winik
Executive Vice President and Executive Producer
NBA Entertainment, Inc.