AusLeisure

The National Basketball League has advised that the competition hit historic heights during its 2023/24 season, with broadcast, attendance and digital engagement records smashed, indicating its rapid growth across Australia and New Zealand.

Fans streamed through the gates in record numbers, with the League welcoming more than a million attendees for the first time since 1996 despite playing far less games. The total number of attendees through 154 games this season was 1,097,455 - third all-time behind 1994 (1,127,033 in 198 games) and 1995 (1,097,678 in 201 games). The average crowd was 7,126, a new NBL record.

The captivating Melbourne United v Tasmania JackJumpers Championship Series headlined the League’s incredible growth, with broadcast ratings up 52% on last season’s Series, including a jump in viewership on Game 5 - a 35% increase on last year.

The broadcast ratings across the entire season increased by 26%, including a more than 27% jump across the Finals.

Jack McVeigh’s game winner from Game 3 of the Championship Series has been viewed more than three million times across social media channels, with that number still growing by the day.

The digital engagement of fans went through the roof on NBL-owned content channels, with a 42% increase in followers across the league's social media platforms, while web and app views skyrocketed by more than 118% compared to last season.

Advising of the competition’s success, NBL Chief Executive, David Stevenson stated “every single moment mattered throughout the season and that is evident by our unprecedented growth across all metrics, many at record levels.

“The NBL’s standing in the Australian and New Zealand sporting landscape continues to strengthen, with the demand, appetite, passion, and engagement of our fans seeing a dramatic increase throughout the season.

“This season was one of the most important and significant in NBL history and provided us with countless memories and moments that we will never forget. It reached a crescendo during the Championship Series, where the eventual champion the JackJumpers battled out one of the most memorable five-game series.

“We want to send a massive thanks to all our fans, clubs, players, sponsors, government partners, broadcast and media partners, staff and volunteers who have all played an invaluable role.

“There’s no doubt the NBL is the fastest growing sporting league in Australia and New Zealand, and we are already planning an array of new and exciting initiatives for next season to ensure our upward trajectory continues.”      

The attention of all 10 clubs will now turn to 15th April, when Free Agency opens and roster construction for next season begins.

Several NBL players will be hitting the court in NBL1 throughout the offseason, across the Central, West, South, East and North conferences.

Images: The Tasmania JackJumpers celebrate their Championship Series win. Credit: Tasmania JackJumpers/Facebook.

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