Record-breaking engagement at the most followed FIBA Basketball World Cup ever

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 witnessed some phenomenal and record-breaking engagement levels to cement its status as the biggest and most successful event in FIBA’s history.

Delivered for the first time by three host nations, the prestigious tournament in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia attained incredible levels of engagement and eye-popping numbers across the entire spectrum of digital, social media, broadcast and attendance.

There were more than 20 billion impressions and 480 million engagements across all platforms, more than triple the numbers recorded in 2019. When it came to social media video views, there was a stunning quadrupling of engagement levels, with the number reaching over four and a half billion.

The @FIBA and @FIBAWC accounts grew significantly during the event, with 4.5 million new fans joining between the Competition Draw and the all-important Final, now seeing 35.4 million followers across both channels.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 website saw significant and eye-catching growth, with over 16 million users accounting for an unprecedented 33 million sessions, which was just shy of double compared to the 2019 event in China. The mobile app, available in 7 languages, reached the milestone of one million downloads.

Meanwhile, a global broadcast distribution to 190 countries achieved a 15 percent increase and there were plenty of impressive highs as fans tuned in to watch the action. The Japan and Cape Verde contest on September 2 was the highest rating broadcast of the calendar year in Japan, while the Philippines and Angola game achieved the second-highest sports audience of 2023 in the Philippines.

There was incredible interest in the title game as Germany made history by beating Serbia to claim their first-ever crown. The game claimed a 35 percent market share in Germany, with over 4.6 million watching live on ZDF, plus 1.3 million reached on MagentaSport. The 59 percent market share on RTS in Serbia was also particularly impressive.

Fans also came in big numbers to watch the games, with over 700,665 attending during the course of the tournament, including the record-breaking FIBA Basketball World Cup crowd of 38,115 at the Philippine Arena for the game between the co-hosts and the Dominican Republic.

“We are very proud and extremely satisfied with the fact that this was the most followed FIBA Basketball World Cup ever and attracted those record levels of engagement,” stated FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis.

“Our biggest-ever event showcased the sport like never before and it underlined that the global appetite for basketball is growing more strongly than ever. Both the existing fans and the millions of new fans that we attracted during the tournament enjoyed some amazing basketball and we would like to take this opportunity to thank them all for their support.”

He added: “We also appreciate the amazing work of our partners in helping to deliver a competition that will be remembered for a very long time. However, we don’t stop here, and we’re already looking forward to breaking more new ground at the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 in Qatar.”