NBA to hold Filipino Heritage Week in March
THE National Basketball Association’s (NBA) affinity with the Philippines and the Filipinos will be highlighted and celebrated as it holds the first NBA Filipino Heritage Week in the country next month.
Set for March 13 to 19, the Filipino Heritage Week will see The Association celebrate Philippine culture with millions of Filipino fans around the world.
The celebration in the Philippines, which will run from March 13-19, will feature a viewing party attended by an NBA legend, an NBA Cares event, and social media activations on the NBA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts in the country.
As part of NBA Filipino Heritage Week, the Golden State Warriors and the Miami Heat will host Filipino Heritage Nights in March, featuring in- arena Philippine-themed activations including musical performances and giveaways.
Games during that stretch available in the Philippines will be aired on Basketball TV, with the Heat- Minnesota Timberwolves and Warriors-Milwaukee Bucks matchups also airing on ABS- CBN Channel 2 and Sports + Action, respectively.
In addition, there will be specially designed merchandise to commemorate the first- ever Filipino Heritage Week.
“The first NBA Filipino Heritage Week is the perfect opportunity for the NBA to celebrate the support of our Filipino fans around the world,” said NBA Philippines Managing Director Carlo Singson in a statement.
“The activities in the Philippines, Miami and Oakland will showcase the country’s vibrant culture and passion for basketball,” he added.
CERTIFIED HITS
Being a basketball country, NBA fares have been certified hits in the country on various platforms.
Case in point was last year’s finals between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, which the former won in historic fashion, coming back from a 1-3 series deficit.
In numbers shared to Business-World, the NBA said the 2016 NBA Finals set new records and increased fan consumption across TV, social, digital, and retail during the series that went the distance.
Through seven games, The Finals on ABS-CBN Channel 2 averaged 4,702,510 viewers per game, up 35% from the 2015 NBA Finals, also between the Cavaliers and Warriors, which went six games and averaged 3,476,534 viewers.
Over on Facebook, The Finals, according to the NBA, generated a record 77.2 million impressions on its NBA Philippines Facebook page, beating 2015’s record of 55.9 million.
The series saw 2.7 million people posting, liking, sharing and commenting on the Facebook page, eclipsing 2015’s total engagement of 2.1 million people. Videos and highlights produced 5.7 million views, a 10-fold jump from the record set in 2015.
Subscription to NBA League Pass, too, grew during last year’s championship series by 50% over the 2015 edition.
NBA merchandise in the Philippines skyrocketed as well, recording staggering merchandise sales that were up 175% compared to the 2015 Finals, the NBA said.