AusLeisure

The National Basketball League (NBL) has advised that it has broken broadcast and crowd records in the first two rounds of its 2023/24 season,

The first round saw a combined 50,934 fans attended the seven games - a new record for the League’s opening-round attendance.

The previous record, set at the beginning of the 2018/19 season, was 48,820.

The biggest draw was the game between the 10-time champion Perth Wildcats and the 2022/23 playoff semi-finalist Tasmania JackJumpers at the RAC Arena which drew 12,361 fans, more than two games in the 2022/23 grand final best-of-five series.

Welcoming the crowd figures, NBL Chief Executive, Dave Stevenson stated “this is yet another significant moment in the NBL’s history and cements our League as one of the hottest tickets on the Australian and New Zealand summer sporting calendar.

“There is nothing like going to an NBL game and I want to thank our players, clubs and the fans for helping to create a truly unique and wonderful family-friendly experience.”

The NBL also saw a record year-on-year viewership increase and attendance for its first round of fixtures across all subscription and streaming platforms.

The average TV audience of the seven games of the opening NBL round achieved a 40% year-on-year increase over the equivalent fixtures of the 2022/23 season. The games were broadcast across networks ESPN, via the streaming service KAYO, and Foxtel.

Commenting on this, Stevenson noted “to be up more than 40% on last year shows the significant amount of awareness and traction we have generated and the desire for elite basketball content in Australia and New Zealand.

“The competitiveness of the NBL has sky-rocketed, and the calibre of players has reached new heights.”

The League has also secured eight new partners this season.

Image credit: NBL.

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