How the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB are growing international fandom—behind the marketing and sponsorships

Boards, glass, nets and a Zamboni were among the rink-building items shipped by sea from Canada to Australia so that two NHL teams, the Arizona Coyotes and the Los Angeles Kings, could play a preseason exhibition series in a hockey arena built inside a tennis stadium. Those games, which took place Sept. 23 and 24 at Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, represented the first NHL games ever played in the Southern Hemisphere and the furthest the league, which is based in Canada and the U.S., has ever traveled to play. The trip fits within the league’s strategy to do what it takes to build the NHL brand in global and emerging markets. As social media and streaming TV have brought games to new places, U.S. sports teams have increasingly journeyed to far-flung locales: The NFL is playing three games in London and two in Frankfurt, Germany this year. MLB will head to the Dominican Republic, Mexico, the U.K. and Korea next season. The NBA will play preseason games in Abu Dhabi and regular-season contests in Paris and Mexico City during its upcoming season. In addition to the preseason series in Australia, the NHL will play four regular-season games in Sweden this year. Ad Age Media Summit Hear from industry leaders during October event in NYC Register here This globetrotting slate of international games is not a sudden trend but the result of a gradual buildup over decades that’s now accelerating. Sports executives say the trend speaks to an ambition to grow revenues by winning new fans and new sponsors in new places, and live games provide one of the most effective sales strategies they can offer. In many cases, individual teams are now marketing themselves in select foreign countries, amplifying efforts by their leagues, while giving sponsors new branding opportunities. There is even speculation the NFL could establish a team or division outside the U.S. ✅ ¡@OrlandoMagic vs @ATLHawks están listos para la #NBAenMéxico!🇲🇽✅ 32 partidos se han jugado en México.✅ 12 partidos de temporada regular.🤩 No te pierdas la magia de la NBA en nuestro país.🎟️ Regístrate a la preventa con tu NBA ID. https://t.co/KhPjHFMXU4 pic.twitter.com/bu280mrANL— NBA MÉXICO (@NBAMEX) July 26, 2023 “By staging games abroad, like the NFL in the U.K. and Germany, or hiring international players, like the NBA, these leagues become more relevant, attract new sponsors and mostly, increase the value of their broadcasting rights in other territories,” said Ricardo Fort, president of the sports consultancy Sport by Fort. “The NFL, the MLB, the NBA and the NHL have seen the European soccer leagues invading the USA for years. Every dollar the English Premier League, LaLiga, Serie A, captures from domestic advertisers, is a dollar less that is left for them. They are now applying the same formula the other way around.” Hosting games overseas ultimately boils down to an attempt to win new fans and potential benefits to follow, said John Shea, CEO of sports agency Octagon R&CPMK. “If you’re building a fan base, that will lead to the ability to ultimately capitalize and monetize on that from a media rights standpoint,” Shea said. “As you broaden that reach from a media rights standpoint, that leads to greater influence across the opportunities for sponsorship. That leads to ticket sales, that leads to merchandise sales, and leads to a growing enterprise. So, I think the ‘why’ is ultimately down to the creation and development of a fan base.” Building revenue through international marketing, Shea added, is becoming more of a necessity for sports teams as they deal with the financial realities of the game, such as increasing player salaries. “The market demands require each league and team to build as large and robust a fan base as they can,” said Shea. “And as you build fan bases, you have the best opportunity to monetize the business. Those are the simple realities that are driving this marketplace. And it continues to be a must, not an if.” Sports are also providing an opportunity for internationally minded brands to grow. Octagon helped craft a global partnership between the NBA and Anheuser-Busch InBev-owned Michelob Ultra. Programs are set to begin with the NBA Mexico City Game between the Atlanta Hawks and Orlando Magic on Nov. 9, Shea said. The firm also secured partnership rights for Expedia and Hotels.com to sponsor the NBA’s Paris game, taking place early next year. The WNBA, which is based in the U.S., is also focused on growing its marketing efforts worldwide. The league played its first preseason game in Canada this year, marking the third time the WNBA has ever played a preseason game outside of the U.S. (The other times were in 2004 (Monterrey, Mexico) and 2011 (Manchester, England.) The phenomenal popularity of Lionel Messi in Miami is demonstrating the opportunity for sports teams to market themselves internationally, Lynn White, senior VP of international strategy for the NHL, said in an interview. “Sports fans have the ability to consume content around the world in the same way that Americans can follow the EPL [English Premier League] or the Champions League,” White said. “Why is Lionel Messi so popular in Miami right now? Clearly, there was an American fan base for him. MLS and Inter Miami saw there was a real opportunity to grow their brand and their business, and we’re doing the same thing. There’s an opportunity to reach people around the world who would appreciate our sport.” Also read: Behind the Messi marketing effect Longer-term opportunity In Melbourne, the NHL performed before a sports-mad fanbase that has relatively few hockey players, but strong signals of hockey interest. “There are a lot of places in the world that we could sell out a game,” White said before the game was broadcast on the NHL Network and ESPN Australia and streamed on ESPN+. “But for us, it’s really about market development and market growth, and whether there is a longer-term opportunity in the market.” The league’s study of Australia led it to believe that such an opportunity existed. Australia ranked fourth among countries overseas in visits to the NHL app, and fifth in purchasing NHL gear, according to the league. Australians paid 7.7 million visits to NHL’s digital platforms in 2022, the same year that Jordan Spence became the first Australian-born hockey player to play in the NHL. “It was somewhat surprising to us that we over-indexed in that market, relative to the number of ice hockey players and ice hockey rinks in that market,” White said. “They were strong against our digital and social platforms. They bought NHL product on shop.nhl.com. And when we had the NHL.tv package—we don’t anymore because it’s part of our ESPN deal—our subscription ratio was really high there.” ESPN’s 7-year media rights deal with the NHL, which began in 2021 and is worth a reported $400 million annually, includes regular season coverage on TV and streaming channels across 109 countries, spanning Australia, New Zealand, Latin America, the Caribbean and parts of Europe and Africa. Also read: NHL sponsorship revenue surges thanks to virtual ads The NHL bolsters its overseas games with youth hockey coaching and officiating instruction, grassroots programming including youth street hockey and fan engagement efforts like the NHL Global Fan Tour, a family-friendly festival of hockey-themed activations. In contrast to Australia, the NHL has deep historical ties to Sweden. It is the home of nearly 100 of the NHL’s 750 players, 21 of whom are members of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota Wild and Ottawa Senators, the teams taking part in a four-game series Nov. 16-19 in Stockholm. “They’re knowledgeable about the game, and they’re knowledgeable about the NHL, so we seek to bring the most authentic product to that market,” White said of the Swedish fans. “For us, what that translates to is meaningful matchups with teams that either have a very strong Swedish history or have a number of Swedes on their rosters currently.” The league is organizing a five-day Global Fan Tour event—or family-friendly hockey exhibit—as part of plans to do a “takeover” of Stockholm that includes a free viewing party, business summit and collaborative programs with Swedish hockey organizations. “There’s a lot more science than art,” in determining international markets to target, said David Proper, senior executive VP of media and international strategy for the NHL. He said the league looks for a central fanbase, potential media deals, grassroots marketing opportunities and support from the business community in determining markets to explore. “We’ve been approached by markets that would be unexpected, whether it be in Asia, the Middle East and they’re places we’re evaluating, but I think the most likely place were going to start looking at doing something seriously in the near future would be Mexico,” Proper said. Football marketing news Tracking Super Bowl, NFL and college brand moves Read more here Barriers have come down For MLB, the advent of streaming media has helped to further unleash a global fan appetite, said Chris Marinak, the league’s chief operations and strategy officer. MLB games are distributed across 152 platforms in 209 countries and territories in 16 languages. For instance, the league in 2022 inked a five-year deal with BBC that includes coverage of some regular-season games played in the U.S., in addition to MLB’s London Series. “Twenty years ago, it would have been very difficult to get our games [broadcast] into some of these markets on a regular basis, other than maybe the All-Star Game, or the World Series. And I think what you see today with streaming and other media platforms is that there’s a huge appetite for baseball content around the globe in Europe, in Asia, throughout Latin America and Mexico,” Marinak said in an interview. “A lot of the barriers to getting our games distributed in some of these markets have come down over the last several years. And we think there’s a huge opportunity to get our game in front of those fans and create more fans around the globe.” Baseball has been playing international exhibitions and regular-season games outside the U.S. for decades but has recently stepped up its marketing of overseas games behind the “MLB World Tour” branding. Also read: How MLB is trying to make it easier to market its players In places where baseball is played professionally, such as Latin America and Asia, MLB is a natural extension of existing baseball passions in those areas of the world. In Europe, MLB is looking to where U.S. culture is understood—such as the U.K., or Germany through its many U.S. military bases—or where platforms like fashion can provide a nontraditional opening. “France is a fashion-driven market, so we do very well in France from a fashion standpoint with headwear,” Marinak said. “And I think there’s a way for us to have an entry point there.” Following the lead of the NFL, MLB quietly assigned international market areas to its clubs last year, giving teams up to three “emphasis” markets where they can do sponsorship deals and other marketing activities. “I think it shows the idea that when the teams have an incentive to go and invest, it will actually amplify the efforts that we are embarking upon centrally at the league,” said Marinak. Early evidence of this was seen this summer in London, where the Chicago Cubs turned select London pubs into “Cubs pubs” prior to their series with the St. Louis Cardinals in London. The “Cubs Pub” in London is blaring #GoCubsGo as @PatandRon670 & @ZachZaidman are in the house! pic.twitter.com/qAMv1ZS6Ip— 670 The Score (@670TheScore) June 22, 2023 MLB has two grassroots programs focused on foreign markets: MLB First Pitch is meant to give children their first exposure to baseball skills and the rules of the game. The MLB Cup organizes championship tournaments for community and rec leagues. Baseball also sees openings in emerging markets such as India. A first-round draft pick of the Toronto Blue Jays this year, Florida-born Arjun Nimmala is making a bid to become the first player of Indian descent to play in the majors. “We’ve done some introductory things with him already around telling his story and trying to use him as a way to connect with some of the audience in India,” Marinak said. International marketing “is a big area of focus for us,” Marinak said, but the job is far from done. “It’s one of our big areas of opportunity to grow the sport. And I think you’ll see, once we give this time to blossom, that there’s going to be a lot of increased engagement around the world because of some of the work we’re putting in here.” Football marketing news Tracking Super Bowl, NFL and college brand moves Read more here Growing the fanbase NFL franchises have also gotten more aggressive overseas, helped by exposure from expanding streaming coverage of games. Earlier this year, the NFL struck a 10-year deal with streaming platform DAZN to make all regular season games available to viewers outside the U.S. via NFL Game Pass International. “Growing the NFL globally is a key strategic priority for the league and our 32 clubs,” NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell stated when the deal was announced in February. (Terms of the deal were not disclosed.) The NFL in 2022 launched its Global Markets Program, which assigns its U.S. teams to international markets where they have the same commercialization rights as they do in their respective home markets. Twenty-one teams now participate in the program in 14 international markets, up from 19 teams in 10 markets last year. The U.K. for instance, is the designated overseas home for seven teams, including the New York Jets. Neil Glat, who was Jets president from 2012-19, today represents the club’s overseas marketing through his role as co-president, Americas, of SportFive, the Jets’ agency in the U.K. According to Glat, the Jets have been active in email and digital marketing with dedicated X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram accounts, and a fan newsletter. Reminder: you can watch the game on Sunday with fellow Jets fans!Our first watch party of the season is taking place in Leicester - see you there! 🤝 pic.twitter.com/0yhJQ5iPr8— New York Jets UK (@NYJetsinUK) September 19, 2023 The Jets last played a game in London in 2021. “When the team is [in the U.K.] playing the games, that’s great, but in the rest of the year, having that digital presence and building the audience and giving tailored content about your team is terrific,” Glat said. “The game is the pinnacle, that’s the content the fans really tune in for and what they really want—that’s controlled by the league. But they’ve given the clubs latitude for a lot of things in and around the game and that has worked out well.” The Jets have also put together “shoulder” TV programming (pregame and postgame coverage) on Sky Sports, a U.K.-based channel that carries NFL games, and arranged for streaming radio calls of Jet games. The team crafted a sponsorship deal with the London-based menswear company Charles Tyrwhitt, which is promoting a Jets-themed collection. “The Jets have a long-term vision that they want to grow the fanbase wherever they are,” Glat said. “From the Jets’ standpoint, it’s an opportunity. There are a lot of rabid NFL fans in the U.K., a number were already Jets fans, and by having a steady presence in the market there’s an opportunity to grow your fan base there.” (The Jets also have another connection to the U.K.—their owner, Woody Johnson, served as the U.S. ambassador over there from 2017-2021.) The NFL is committed to the U.K., announcing this month that it would play a minimum of two games a year in London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium through the 2029-2030 season. The Jacksonville Jaguars, which have played one game in London every season since 2014 (except for 2020 due to pandemic reasons), will play games in London this year on consecutive weeks, hosting the Falcons at Wembley Stadium on Oct. 1 and serving as the visiting team against Buffalo at Tottenham Oct. 8. The NFL is also seeking more international talent. The league announced it would allow teams to expand their practice squads from 16 to 17 players, if one player is a qualifying international player, starting next year. The league’s International Player Program, established in 2017, has developed five players currently on NFL active rosters. The internationalization of football is attracting the attention of sponsors such as Jameson, which enlisted former NFL quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick in a cheeky, unofficial bid to encourage the league to schedule an NFL game in Dublin. A contest is offering 50 fans a trip to Dublin if a game is announced there by Sept. 13, 2024. The Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers earlier this year were granted global market rights in Ireland and Northern Ireland. Shea said he is expecting teams and leagues would continue looking to international markets for growth, and said an international Super Bowl could one day be a possibility. “I think you’ll continue to see expanded opportunities,” Shea said. “You’ll see leagues continue to double down; you’ll see them maybe move tentpole events out of the U.S. I think you’ll see big events taking place outside of their normal rotation of locations over time.”

How the NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB are growing international fandom—behind the marketing and sponsorships

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