By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
The 2023-24 season of the Basketball Champions League (BCL) introduced innovative elements like the ASB GlassFloor at the Belgrade Final Four and continued its trend of expanding digital outreach. The league’s emphasis on social media and digital presence since its inception has resulted in consistent growth, demonstrated by Season 8’s impressive numbers.
The BCL’s social media followers surpassed 2.64 million, with significant growth on Instagram and TikTok, both nearly 10% higher than the previous season. Despite this, Facebook remains the most popular platform among BCL fans.
Total video views rose to 58 million from last season’s 50 million, and total engagement increased to 2.6 million from two million. The official website, championsleague.basketball, saw about three million page views, with users from Spain, Greece, and Germany making up over 41% of visits. Interestingly, 5% of visitors were from the United States, the top non-European country.
Clubs participating in the BCL benefited from this digital growth. Tofas Bursa saw their social media following grow by 53%, with a staggering 1,300% increase on TikTok. Unicaja, the 2023-24 champions, experienced a 9% overall growth in social media presence, driven by a 23% increase on Instagram. SL Benfica Lisbon led the growth on Twitter, with a 16% rise in followers.
The Belgrade Final Four was the peak event of the year in terms of digital engagement, with total interactions increasing by 26% compared to the 2023 tournament, reaching 721,000.