The NBA’s international players are driving increased engagement and viewership worldwide on NBA League Pass, according to figures obtained from the rights-holder by SportBusiness Media.
International subscriptions to the streaming service are up 21 per cent this season, with rising viewership showing strong correlation with the nationalities of the league’s foreign stars.
Serbia (+395 per cent) and Slovenia (+186 per cent) have seen the largest year-on-year unique viewer growth among all countries outside the United States, driven in large part by Denver Nuggets centre Nikola Jokić and Dallas Mavericks rookie Luka Dončić, respectively.
Notably, the Nuggets (+41 per cent) and Mavericks (+31 per cent) rank first and second, respectively, among all 30 teams in year-on-year unique viewer growth on League Pass internationally.
Greece (+37 per cent) and Montenegro (+65 per cent) also saw significant growth, driven by NBA All-Stars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Nikola Vučević respectively.
Australia has enjoyed 17 per cent year-on-year viewership growth, thanks in large part to the the record nine Australians who were on opening-night rosters this season.
Total watch time for NBA League Pass internationally is up 16 per cent.