The rebranding of the National Basketball League (NBL) continued today with the league taking another step towards creating a digital presence and purchasing the domain names www.basketball.com.au and www.basketball.co.nz, which will immediately become content hubs for basketball across Australia and New Zealand. The league has also purchased nbl.net.au, nbl.org.au and bball.com.au.

Executive Director of the NBL Larry Kestelman said that the priority for him and the recently appointed NBL board is to re-engage with current and former fans through digital platforms along with television.

“The NBL hasn’t kept up with what fans expect from a major sports league in terms of digital engagement and online presence,” Mr Kestelman said.

“The domain name purchase gives us the opportunity to provide the best online portal within that category where fans can keep up with the game of basketball in Australia and around the world. There will be a dual website approach with the revamp of the nbl.com.au due soon for the local game when basketball.com.au will become a content hub for the global game.

“During the construction phase, basketball.com.au will redirect to the official NBL website as we head towards the season. The NBL draws huge crowds in Australia but it hasn’t invested in the online medium it goes without saying that any sporting product today has to cater to providing information that can be accessed via a smart phone.

“Since the 1990s, there has been a huge shift in how people engage with sports and participate in sports entertainment, and for basketball, we are aiming to exceed everyone’s expectations in terms of what the fans can access through digital channels.”

Mr Kestelman said that the purchase of the domain name was part of an overall rebranding strategy, which will completely overhaul the league’s online customer service interface, content output, and user experience. Currently being undertaken by leading creative agency, Publicis Mojo, the NBL has an ambitious program for unveiling its new-look brand ahead of the season commencing in October.

“We have a 100-day agenda to undertake a full digital rebrand, product refresh, and secure a broadcast partner before the season commences. We are progressing extremely well and I am very confident that basketball will