Nike Battlegrounds: King of the Court Season Premiere Details

Strategic Insights -

MTV2 and Nike have teamed up for the third season of their popular basketball series, Nike Battlegrounds, which will premiere on September 18th at 8pm ET/5pm PT on MTV2. This season, the show will take on a new twist by focusing on the team aspects of the sport, rather than an individual 1-on-1 elimination process. NBA superstar LeBron James, alongside rookies Andre Iguodala and Ben Gordon, will host the show as they send two of the hottest NBA rookies back to their hometowns to coach the young talent and develop the teams.

Key Takeaways:

  • The third season of Nike Battlegrounds will feature a team-based format, with LeBron James and rookie hosts Andre Iguodala and Ben Gordon coaching two teams of young basketball players from Chicago and New York.
  • The show will document the selection process, practices, and the cities the teams represent, before the final match-up to determine which city is the "King of the Court."
  • The theme song for the season, "Battlegrounds: King of the Court," was created by platinum recording artist T.I.
  • Comcast ON DEMAND and Charter OnDemand will premiere a preview special on September 7th, followed by the series premiere on September 11th at 8pm ET/5pm PT.
  • The show will be available on MTV2, with all episodes on demand on MTV2.com and MTV Overdrive from the desktop.
  • The partnership between MTV and Nike began in 2003, and last year's season took the show international, focusing on one-on-one street battles between players from around the world.
  • Nike Battlegrounds is a Nike, Wieden + Kennedy Entertainment and @radical.media production in partnership with MTV2, and will feature a strong focus on music, with hip-hop visionaries such as T.I. and LeBron James driving the show's vision.

Statistics:

  • 21.5 million cable customers, 7.7 million high-speed Internet customers, and 1.2 million voice customers for Comcast
  • Over 26 million viewers watched the first full season of the Sic 'Em Friday programming block on MTV2
  • 17% growth among P12-34 and 52% growth among Teens for the hip-hop powerhouse "Sucker Free Sundays" on MTV2 last year
  • 50% year over year growth in revenue for Charter Communications' Business Services segment
  • 64% of Comcast's customers subscribe to digital TV, 62% to high-speed Internet, and 24% to phone service
  • 12 million users have activated the NFL RedZone on Comcast's Xfinity X1 platform

Sources:

  • PR Newswire: "MTV2 and Nike Unite for Biggest Season of Nike Battlegrounds Ever"
  • MTV2: "Nike Battlegrounds: King of the Court" Press Release
  • Comcast: "About Comcast"
  • Charter Communications: "About Charter Communications"
  • Nike: "About NIKE"
  • MTV Networks: "About MTV Networks"