The National Basketball Association (NBA) is bringing the hoops action closer to their Filipino fans with the impending launch of NBA.com Philippines, a localized portal that will cater to the sport’s local fans.
NBA.com Philippines is developed in conjunction with X-Play Online Games Inc. (X-Play), the casual gaming subsidiary of Philippine online publisher IP e-Game Ventures Inc., and Philstar.com
The new online destination was unveiled a day before the start of the 2012 NBA Playoffs on Saturday, with key executives from the NBA as well as its two partners in the initiative — IP e-Game Ventures Inc. (E-Games) and Philstar.com — gracing the trade show.
NBA Philippines Country Manager Carlo Singson said the league decided to open its 13th Web destination in the Philippines because of the country’s immense support and loyalty to the US-based basketball league.
Singson revealed that the Philippines actually ranks third — next only to the US and China — in terms of monthly visitors to the NBA.com website, accounting for as much as 56 million page views every month.
“That is an amazing achievement,” Singson remarked, adding that the NBA’s goal for the future is to make the league more salient to its global fans. “Digital is the new frontier for the NBA. Fans want something new to get them excited about the games.”
To whet Pinoy NBA fans’ appetite for the game, the NBA is pooling unique and localized content to be featured on the site, including commentary from Philippine Star sports columnist Quinito Henson; writer Rick Olivares; and a host of other sports enthusiasts and bloggers.
Executives said the Philippine portal would also be the only one to feature a “Cheer dancers” section, which will feature the various cheer dancing team of the NBA, owing to the Pinoys’ growing penchant for the sport.
The NBA.com Philippines website will also integrate various social media elements so that fans can keep track of the game using their Facebook (NBA Philippines) or Twitter (@NBA_Philippines) accounts.
“The NBA has a long history in the Philippines, and we are always looking to deliver bigger and better content to the millions of Filipino NBA fans,” said Carlo Singson, NBA Asia’s country manager for the Philippines.
“We are excited to launch NBA.com Philippines where there is a good blend of local commentary, global content and event information all in one place, and IP e-Games’ expertise and reputation in the market make them the perfect partner for what we want to achieve.”
“It’s a great honor to be a part of this endeavor, knowing that we will be helping Filipino fans get their regular dose of NBA content – this time through NBA.com Philippines,” said Philstar.com president and CEO Kevin Belmonte. “Being a basketball-crazy nation and one of the major markets for the NBA in Asia, the Philippines deserves to have its own localized NBA website – a place on the Web that Filipino NBA fans can call their home.”
“NBA.com Philippines provides a good blend of local commentary, global content and event information, and IP e-Games’ expertise and reputation in the market make them the perfect partner.
E-Games will reportedly be responsible for all the back-end technical elements of the website, from hosting to content management and other digital features. Philstar.com, meanwhile, will be providing unique and local content for the site.
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| NBA.com Philippines Portal |
NBA.com Philippines is developed in conjunction with X-Play Online Games Inc. (X-Play), the casual gaming subsidiary of Philippine online publisher IP e-Game Ventures Inc., and Philstar.com
The new online destination was unveiled a day before the start of the 2012 NBA Playoffs on Saturday, with key executives from the NBA as well as its two partners in the initiative — IP e-Game Ventures Inc. (E-Games) and Philstar.com — gracing the trade show.
NBA Philippines Country Manager Carlo Singson said the league decided to open its 13th Web destination in the Philippines because of the country’s immense support and loyalty to the US-based basketball league.
Singson revealed that the Philippines actually ranks third — next only to the US and China — in terms of monthly visitors to the NBA.com website, accounting for as much as 56 million page views every month.
“That is an amazing achievement,” Singson remarked, adding that the NBA’s goal for the future is to make the league more salient to its global fans. “Digital is the new frontier for the NBA. Fans want something new to get them excited about the games.”
To whet Pinoy NBA fans’ appetite for the game, the NBA is pooling unique and localized content to be featured on the site, including commentary from Philippine Star sports columnist Quinito Henson; writer Rick Olivares; and a host of other sports enthusiasts and bloggers.
Executives said the Philippine portal would also be the only one to feature a “Cheer dancers” section, which will feature the various cheer dancing team of the NBA, owing to the Pinoys’ growing penchant for the sport.
The NBA.com Philippines website will also integrate various social media elements so that fans can keep track of the game using their Facebook (NBA Philippines) or Twitter (@NBA_Philippines) accounts.
“The NBA has a long history in the Philippines, and we are always looking to deliver bigger and better content to the millions of Filipino NBA fans,” said Carlo Singson, NBA Asia’s country manager for the Philippines.
“We are excited to launch NBA.com Philippines where there is a good blend of local commentary, global content and event information all in one place, and IP e-Games’ expertise and reputation in the market make them the perfect partner for what we want to achieve.”
“It’s a great honor to be a part of this endeavor, knowing that we will be helping Filipino fans get their regular dose of NBA content – this time through NBA.com Philippines,” said Philstar.com president and CEO Kevin Belmonte. “Being a basketball-crazy nation and one of the major markets for the NBA in Asia, the Philippines deserves to have its own localized NBA website – a place on the Web that Filipino NBA fans can call their home.”
“NBA.com Philippines provides a good blend of local commentary, global content and event information, and IP e-Games’ expertise and reputation in the market make them the perfect partner.
E-Games will reportedly be responsible for all the back-end technical elements of the website, from hosting to content management and other digital features. Philstar.com, meanwhile, will be providing unique and local content for the site.
