“We don’t disclose financial figures, but I can tell you that we have grown by about 15 percent annually over the last ten years and we expect our international business to grow by another 20 percent next year,” the NBA deputy admitted -Commissioner Mark Tatum gave the Reuters news agency a strategic insight.
The world’s top basketball league has hosted games in Abu Dhabi and Mexico City in 2023 and will play a game in Paris on January 11th. Since 1978, more than 210 NBA games have taken place outside North America, making the league a pioneer in this regard. After the first steps under Commissioner David Stern, who died in 2020, the NBA can be followed anywhere in the world and at any time in the fully developed global age with a practically unmanageable TV market.
The NHL visited the southern hemisphere for the first time this year, playing two sold-out preseason games in Melbourne in September. “It was ambitious because it was our first foray into a new market in Australia,” said Lynn White, NHL vice president of international affairs.
Last month, the Minnesota Wild and Vorarlberg’s Marco Rossi were guests in ice hockey-crazy Stockholm and played two regular-season games there. “In Sweden, which is an established and successful market for us, it was about achieving a higher scale. Both were a success in every respect,” emphasized White. The league plans to return to Australia and Mexico in the coming years. The league is also “seriously considering” hosting an international tournament with national teams on both sides of the Atlantic.
The NFL is now established in Europe. Last November, 100,167 spectators attended two regular season games in Frankfurt. The Miami Dolphins-Kansas City Chiefs matchup on November 5 was watched by 9.6 million viewers on television and online, making it NFL Network’s most-watched international game. Munich will host the games in 2024. “The numbers speak for themselves – the NFL has arrived in Germany,” said Alexander Steinforth, Managing Director of the NFL for Germany.
A majority of NFL teams recently decided that the football league can hold a record eight international games in 2025. Almost a week ago, North America’s most popular league announced that it would host its first game in South America in 2024. The destination is the Brazilian metropolis of Sao Paulo. Global growth remains “an important strategic priority,” it said.
MLB’s biggest star, Japan’s Shohei Ohtani, will make his debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers on March 20 in Seoul. The baseball league’s travel plans for 2024 also include Mexico City, London and Santo Domingo.
The MLS has raised its global profile with the arrival of world football star Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. The Argentine’s fame and global traction helped the league achieve record stadium attendance numbers, and sales of MLS subscriptions on Apple TV shot through the roof. “We are now not only part of the global conversation, but one of the biggest stories in global football,” said Commissioner Don Garber.
