NBA’s social media reach sets record numbers

The social media world is expanding every single day. Twitter, and Facebook are the leaders in this social media world and NBA fans have been tapping into the two outlets to stay up to date on their favorite teams, players and everything NBA related.

Indeed the NBA is a global sport and has reached all corners and Twitter and Facebook are at the forefront of this charge.

And it is this reach that the NBA has set a record 278 million fans following the NBA, teams and players on social media globally. Not to mention the NBA is the number one sports league in China on social media with 52 million followers on Sina Weibo and Tencent QQ (via NBA press release).

The National Basketball Association (NBA), which has a record 278 million fans following the NBA, teams and players globally on social media, today announced that the Philippines tops the list of countries following the league on Facebook and Twitter outside the United States and China.  During The Finals, the NBA will use social media to provide coverage and interact with fans around the world in real time.

TOP FIVE ON FACEBOOK TOP FIVE ON TWITTER
1)        Philippines 1)        Philippines
2)        Turkey 2)        Indonesia
3)        Indonesia 3)        Brazil
4)        Mexico 4)        United Kingdom
5)        France 5)        India

*Not including U.S. and China                                        *Not including U.S. and China

The ‘NBA Game Locator’ Facebook application will drive Finals tune-in by detecting the origin of fans in more than 140 countries and territories and informing them of where and when games will be broadcast in their home market. The NBA has official accounts on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Tumblr, Google+, Sina Weibo and Tencent QQ.   Approximately 50% of the followers on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube are international.

In addition to the league’s 278 million followers, the NBA is the most popular sports channel on YouTube, with more than 883 million videos viewed since 2005.

In addition to the NBA’s main Facebook account, the league has 11 international Facebook pages offering customized in-language content targeting fans in each market: Germany, UK, France, Spain, Greece, Latin America (ene-be-a), Africa, India, Turkey, Italy, and Philippines.

First off, I would have never guess the Philippines would be at the top of the two lists. Usually you hear about the NBA being huge in Britain, France and other countries which have home-grown NBA players. However, talking to Crossover’s own John Karalis, he states over at his site (Redsarmy.com), he sees a lot of traffic coming from the Philippines so maybe it’s not too surprising.

Second, this is just a testament to the NBA and it’s goal of making the NBA truly a global sport. Say what you will about him, but this will be NBA Commissioner David Stern’s legacy once he leaves the position.

But seeing how we are on the topic of social media, give Crossover a follow on Twitter and like us on Facebook.

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