the basketball market | France

1.1 Definition and scope of the study

Basketball clubs allow players with a yearly renewed license to practice basketball by forming teams, according to their age and gender, with several trainings per week as well as matches in national, regional or departmental championships. They are usually present in cities or departments.

Basketball is one of the most practiced sports in France, the 5th in 2019 with 516,387 licenses and other participation titles (ATP) behind soccer, tennis, horse riding and judo.

The most important players in the French market are the Jeep Elite (French basketball championship), and the Pro B (French second division basketball championship), both organized by the National Basketball League and each with 18 teams competing.

In the 2018-2019 season, for the Jeep Elite, game revenues including ticket sales were worth 15 million euros (16% of total revenues), TV rights 3.8 million euros (4%), sponsorship 3.8 million euros (4%), and the rest was generated from the sale of sports equipment.48 million (50%), subsidies of 19.7 million (20%), write-backs of depreciation of 4.1 million (4%) and other income of 5.2 million (5%).

The French Basketball Federation (FFBB) organizes and directs basketball activity in France and has 4,200 affiliated clubs throughout the country, with a concentration of clubs in the southwest and Alsace. For the 2021-2022 season, there are 513,770 licenses in total, with a majority of male players (65.6% of players and 34.4% of female players).

The Covid-19 health crisis has had a slight effect on the number of licenses taken out in France: for the 2020-21 season, there are 514,776 licenses taken out compared to 668,367 for the previous season and 710,970 the year before.

On the other hand, the crisis has had significant financial consequences for professional clubs. The early termination of the championships from March 2020 has caused a drop of 4.2 million euros in match revenues and 11.2 million euros in sponsorship.