This is accelerating interest in the basketball business in Mexico, where they have partners such as Nike, ESPN, Televisa, AT&T, Gatorade, Hennessy Tissot, SAP, PlayStation, Uber Eats and Take-Two, for whom the most important thing is to continue bringing the NBA games. “That is why Mexico is a great market for us and we will continue making investments for its development,” Zárraga said.
Currently, the digital distribution of the NBA is one of the priorities and they want the NBA to be available in all formats: TV, apps, video games, merchandise.
The average audience for the 2022-23 season in Mexico is up 48%, and the country is in fifth place on the list of international markets with the most League Pass subscriptions, behind Australia, Brazil, the Philippines and Canada.
In the same way, this week the alliance with Mercado Libre was announced, “which will allow us to increase our offer and distribute our merchandise. Mercado Libre will launch a page on its e-commerce website where it will sell official NBA merchandise,” he said. Zarraga.
Regarding the expansion and bringing an NBA franchise to Mexico, both executives pointed out that there are still no plans or specific dates, but they pointed out that Mexico should be considered as a potential market, since it is the largest market in America. America and the closest to the United States.
“The Capitanes team (it is an NBA G League team based in Mexico City) will help us understand how a basketball franchise operates in Mexico, which has to be considered as one of the key markets for future expansion. of the league”, concluded Zárraga.
Earlier this year, Capitanes began its first season as part of the NBA G League, becoming the league’s first team outside of the US and Canada.