The NBA has the highest percentage of fans under the age of 34, according to Nielsen’s 2013 Year in Sports Media report, which ultimately generates the NBA’s tech-savvy reputation as the League has had to develop a digital strategy to match this young and growing audience.
“They are really spearheading the revolution when it comes to sports,” said Humberto Farias, the COO and co-founder of FanHero, a mobile and web platform that connects athletes, teams, etc. through their fans through exclusive content.
The NBA’s annual tech summit and the NBA Player’s association’s inaugural summit of its own highlight the game’s commitment to being on the forefront of media and technology. The NBA conference scheduled panels this year included representatives from Snapchat, YouTube, Instagram and Twitter. Their was a specific panel titled “courtside from your couch” that was slated to explore mobile tech.
FanHero is like those platforms, but more tailored to the fan. The report also noted that NBA fans are 66 percent more likely to have visited Twitter in the last month, compared to 34 percent of NHL fans and 41 percent of NFL fans, indicating a willingness of NBA fans to engage in online media. Stephen Curry found success with his “Stephmoji” mobile app, while LeBron James has an app of his own.
Former Golden State Warrior and current Phoenix Sun Leandro Barbosa–the “Brazilian Blur”–has also chosen to design an app and expand his reach. Barbosa’s app, named “Blurbosa” and developed on the FanHero platform, is set to go live at the end of the month.
Get The Latest Sports Tech News In Your Inbox!
Tuned into what kind of content the user likes, FanHero adjusts the app experience to those preferences. FanHero isn’t an app in itself, but an app-building tool for anything with a fanbase. Clients can add interactive calendars, live streams and promotional material while accessing data analysis.
“He (Barbosa) has fans all over the world,” Farias said. “People more and more, they want to get a picture of who these people really are, the human side of things, and our platform is the perfect vehicle for that.”
Farias said the app would allow Barbosa to live stream a training session, or motivational speech and have that immediately accessible to his international fans.
“In Brazil he is a hero. He has overcome a lot of difficulties, he has a beautiful, very inspirational story,” Farias said. “The inspiration behind FanHero is to empower people like him, and sports teams as well to inspire people.”
“Emerging technology, such as wearables and new media content platforms, directly impact our players every day,” said Roger Mason, Jr., Deputy Executive Director of the NBPA in a statement.
FanHero is also involved in other negotiations with NBA teams and athletes, Farias said. Based on the NBA’s young fan-base and eager adoption of media, FanHero is one of numerous examples of online and social platforms that are being integrated into the fabric of the NBA.