NBA Announces Digital Partnership With Times Internet Limited

MUMBAI, May 31, 2011 – The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Times Internet Limited (TIL), a subsidiary of Times Group, today announced a digital partnership to launch the first-ever dedicated NBA section on the Times of India website -- timesofindia.com.

The NBA becomes the second sports league after the Indian Premier League (IPL) to partner with the Times Group in India, highlighting the growing popularity of basketball and the NBA in India.

The new dedicated NBA section on the Times of India website will reach more than 12 million users per month. The NBA section will provide fans with comprehensive daily updates on the latest NBA news and scores, and will feature original columns from Times Group journalists. Daily video highlights, photo galleries and articles from NBA analysts will be offered, as well as in-depth features on the league and its players. Furthermore, journalists from the Times Group will travel to the 2011 NBA Finals to provide on-site and behind-the-scenes coverage for fans in India.

“We are proud to be associated with one of the most recognized sporting leagues in the World,” said Rishi Khiani, CEO, Times Internet Limited.” The NBA is the premier men's professional basketball league in North America. With the growing popularity of basketball globally, and more recently in India, we plan to leverage our audience to help popularize the sport further and drive newer audiences to the game.”

“The Times Group has unrivaled reach in India and they are an ideal partner to help showcase our game and engage more NBA fans throughout the country,” said Heidi Ueberroth, President, NBA International. “We are in the midst of one of our most exciting playoffs in recent memory and the innovative, in-depth sports coverage provided by the Times Group allows us to bring fans in India closer to the game.”

The NBA is committed to growing popularity of basketball in India and is currently in the second season of the Mahindra NBA Challenge -- the largest multi-city, community-based basketball league in India. The NBA has marketing partnerships in India with adidas, Coca-Cola, EA SPORTS, HP, Mahindra, Nike, Reebok, and Spalding; has record television coverage this season on Ten Sports and Sony Pix; and recently launched the widest assortment of jerseys and merchandise ever in India in 200 adidas stores.

Additionally, in partnership with the Basketball Federation of India (BFI), the NBA is promoting the sport on all levels. NBA Cares, the league’s global social responsibility program, has hosted numerous youth and coaching clinics over the past year. Basketball courts are being refurbished to facilitate access to the game and promote participation among youth. Around 15 NBA or WNBA players have traveled to India to conduct clinics and raise awareness of the game. The NBA is also working closely with the BFI to identify coaches for India’s National Team.

About the NBA
The NBA, founded in 1946, is a professional sports league and global business that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2010-11 season, NBA games will reach 215 countries and territories in more than 40 languages. Official NBA rosters currently feature 85 players from 41 countries and territories. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 125,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents. NBA.com averages more than 26 million page views per day, with more than 50 percent of the site’s visitors coming from outside of North America. The NBA is the No. 1 U.S. sports league on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, with the most fans, followers, and videos viewed on each, respectively. Through NBA Cares, the league, its teams and players have donated more than $150 million to charity, completed more than 1.5 million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 560 places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.

About Times Internet Limited
Times Internet Limited, (TIL), is the internet and mobile venture of India’s largest media house - the Times Group. TIL websites are among the fastest growing web-based networks worldwide. TIL has led the internet revolution in India and has emerged as India’s foremost web entity, running diverse portals and niche websites.
Indiatimes.com is TIL’s flagship brand. India’s state-of the art internet portal encompasses telecom, e-commerce, online advertisement solutions, communities, events. Indiatimes.com is undoubtedly India’s preferred online & mobile value-added services destination for millions of surfers and subscribers looking for a rich and diverse digital content. Indiatimes.com, the multi-faceted portal, commands more than 575 million page views per month. The other key properties in the TIL portfolio are timesofindia.com – world no.1 news site in terms of page views and economictimes.com India’s No.1 business news website.
In the mobile space, Indiatimes 58888 is the largest direct-to-consumer SMS and IVR shortcode, accessed by over 50 million consumers across all telecom operators in India.

Adfactors PR,
Raj Mahal,
VN Road,
Churchgate,
Mumbai

This release was published on openPR.