In the case of the combination of the NBA and esports, there is no need to pay anything. Because sports bigwigs like Jeremy Lin and Gordon Hayward love esports and sell esports to millions of Twitter followers, which in itself is boosting the esports fan base.

The charm of esports is that although it is not as large as leagues such as the NBA and NFL, it has a strong international influence in the world. China, Japan and South Korea have made a lot of money through esports, and some European countries have also begun to invest in esports infrastructure. In fact, in 016, 44% of the world's esports audience was expected to come from the Asia-Pacific region.

Traditional sports embrace the esports industry

When asked why he wanted to invest in the esports industry, O'Neal, who now serves as an NBA analyst at TNT Sports, said, "I've been looking at video games all these years. At this year's Consumer Electronics Show (CES), I saw firsthand the power of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and the immense enthusiasm of esports fans. This is no longer the preserve of traditional athletes. So, I reached out to my good friend Andy Miller, a shareholder of Kings, and joined NRG with me. ”

Traditionally, when it comes to esports, games such as League of Legends, Counter-Strike, and Heroes of Warcraft are generally in mind, but video games related to mainstream sports such as football and basketball are rarely associated with esports. FIFA series and MaddenNFL, as the best ones, have indeed accumulated many users as well. However, sports video games have been lacking the most favorable timing when they enter the mainstream eye.

。 However, a few months ago, everything began to quietly change. American game publisher KSports held its first esports tournament and revealed the latest cover of its NBAK17 game. This is no ordinary game, but a competition between 16 teams competing for $50,000 in prize money and finally reaching the 017 NBA Game Finals. This is a huge investment by KSports in the esports industry.

However, this single game manufacturer alone can't shake the direction of the entire esports industry. As we have listed earlier, it is only when the passionate traditional professional athletes enter the industry that the entire esports industry can be truly revitalized.

For example, current NBA stars Jeremy Lin (Brooklyn Nets) and Gordon Hayward (Utah Jazz) have both expressed their support for esports and have publicly expressed their love for esports. After Jeremy Lin entered the esports industry, he established his own Dota team. Hayward, on the other hand, became the first NBA player to sign an esports endorsement deal. The recognition of professional athletes will naturally stimulate the creative enthusiasm of sports game developers, thereby driving the healthy development of the entire industry.

If I had to make a historical demarcation of the NBA's commercial development, it would be 1984. That year, Stern entered the NBA, Michael Jordan came to Chicago, and under Stern's star-making campaign and commercial promotion, the commercial value of the entire league increased rapidly. With a series of entertainment changes and the rapid development of new media, the commercial value of NBA stars has also been fully explored.

Today, let's casually talk about those things in the NBA industry circle outside the game.

If there's one sports business league's top source of revenue, it's TV rights. At the end of this season, the NBA's new contracts with TNT, ESPN and ABC will continue into the 04-5 season, with the total price of this new broadcast contract reaching $4 billion, and the average annual broadcast price is nearly double that of the old contract, from the original 900 million to $660 million. Overseas, a news company also needs to pay $100 million per season on a five-year contract with the NBA.

After talking about tickets, let's talk about the brand promotion of the NBA, among the four major leagues in North America, the NBA has done the best job in global promotion. Every season, NBA games can appear in more than 00 different countries and regions, and nearly 00 TV stations and more than 50 languages can cover and disseminate them in all aspects. In order to make the brand better landing in various countries, the NBA has set up branches on five continents around the world, and these branches have established NBA official websites, online stores, NBA stores in each region, and licensed products such as sports goods, star cards, stationery, publications, etc., have also generated revenue for the league.

After talking about the business development of the entire NBA league. Let's talk about each team's business history. According to the NBA team valuation report released by Forbes in 016, the value of a team in terms of business comes from the market, arena and brand sponsorship.

The development of intangible assets in the stadium is a common issue for us, the Toyota Center, the home stadium of the Rockets, which is well known to Chinese fans, is named by Toyota Corporation of Japan, the AT&T Center Arena is named by AT&T; (American Telephone and Telegraph Company), and the naming rights of the Rose Garden Arena, the home stadium of the Trail Blazers, was won by ModaHealth for $400,000 a year in 01, and is now renamed the Moda Center.

The main game of the NBA is inherently commercial. The players play eight regular season games a season, and if you happen to be on a strong team, there are four to eight playoff games waiting for you. Every NBA team has a ticketing operations department that prices tickets based on different locations in the arena, develops season ticket sales plans, and works with merchants to bundle tickets — for example, the 76ers, who have had a bleak time in recent years, have partnered with a burger joint in Philadelphia to get free tickets (lying guns...... ）。

Teams like the Lakers and Knicks, who are in big cities and have a perennially hot ball market, can earn tens of millions of dollars in ticket sales every season. In addition to ticket revenue, fans will also have parking fees and the purchase of team merchandise (jerseys, caps, dolls, etc.) when they go to the stadium. The associated expenses such as buying beer, hot dogs, and drinks during the game are also a lot of income for the team. It is worth mentioning that in some extreme cases, the beer in the stadium can even be more expensive than the ticket..... Well! Or the 76ers (again?) Lying gun).

In addition to the stadium's revenues on and off match days, teams are also able to achieve commercial development through sponsorship from a variety of brands. Licensed beverages, food, sports equipment, and even transportation can be sponsors of the team, and LED billboards on the sidelines of each team during the game keep their doors open for brands around the world.

On June 11 last year, the NBA officially announced that the league had signed a jersey sponsorship contract with top sports brand Nike, for a period of 8 years, starting with the 017-18 season, the total amount has not been disclosed, but it is expected to be far more than $40 million per year. According to the contract details, Nike's logo will appear on NBA game jerseys, making history and marking the dawn of the era of jersey advertising. And every team can get objective dividends from it. (To be continued)