Team USA took another step toward the top of the FIBA Basketball World Cup on Saturday as they beat Team Mexico 86-63 in Barcelona. The game was never expected to be particularly close and America kept it that way lead by Golden State Warrior teammates Steph Curry (20pts, 3 rbds. 1A, 1Stl) and Klay Thompson (15pts, 4rbds, & 2A) otherwise known stateside as the "Splash Brothers" for their flare for shooting from beyond the 3-point arch.
Team USA looks to continue their winning ways in a few days as they next play the winner of Slovenia/Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
The FIBA event takes place in Spain as the newly-christened World Cup of Basketball looks to gain a foothold in the international sports landscape and make global stars of some players who aren't all household names. Sure, national pride is on the line but only a fool would believe that players play in these international events without thinking about how it might benefit them. Playing well in an international event like this can make an unknown foreigner a rich man in the NBA or other big leagues or it can make an NBA bench player stand out for a future lucrative contract. The hopes of television and media producers is that the allure of seeing their favorite players side-by-side in an all-star team will help drive consumers to watch the product and even buy merchandise.
This event poses a challenge for American marketers and advertisers as well and television programming directors as the games are at least 7 hours ahead of east coast time, thus making them practically unavailable to many Americans. As we all know, sports are a dish best served live and these games are rarely seen live in the early rounds. More money could be had if they were more visible but then the semi-finals and finals are played in better prime-time time slots for the just that reason. Social media and technology also work against the television people because live tweets and constant score updates make the final results hard to miss for fans looking to possibly find out the scores organically.
References
Amick, S. (2014, September 6). USA Basketball beats Mexico in FIBA World Cup. Retrieved September 15, 2014.
Team USA looks to continue their winning ways in a few days as they next play the winner of Slovenia/Dominican Republic on Tuesday.
The FIBA event takes place in Spain as the newly-christened World Cup of Basketball looks to gain a foothold in the international sports landscape and make global stars of some players who aren't all household names. Sure, national pride is on the line but only a fool would believe that players play in these international events without thinking about how it might benefit them. Playing well in an international event like this can make an unknown foreigner a rich man in the NBA or other big leagues or it can make an NBA bench player stand out for a future lucrative contract. The hopes of television and media producers is that the allure of seeing their favorite players side-by-side in an all-star team will help drive consumers to watch the product and even buy merchandise.
This event poses a challenge for American marketers and advertisers as well and television programming directors as the games are at least 7 hours ahead of east coast time, thus making them practically unavailable to many Americans. As we all know, sports are a dish best served live and these games are rarely seen live in the early rounds. More money could be had if they were more visible but then the semi-finals and finals are played in better prime-time time slots for the just that reason. Social media and technology also work against the television people because live tweets and constant score updates make the final results hard to miss for fans looking to possibly find out the scores organically.
References
Amick, S. (2014, September 6). USA Basketball beats Mexico in FIBA World Cup. Retrieved September 15, 2014.