THE BankWest Wildcats have launched an annual event that will be televised into an estimated 33 million homes throughout Asia from 2004.
The event, Summer Jam, will feature the Wildcats’ scheduled season basketball match with the Melbourne Tigers. But the game will be held at the Burswood Dome rather than Challenge Stadium and will be followed by a rock concert.
Perth Wildcats executive director Andrew Vlahov said the Summer Jam event had the potential develop into a major annual event such as the Hopman Cup.
“It’s never been done before to this magnitude and bringing basketball and music together will be a tremendous promotional tool for the sport here in WA,” Mr Vlahov said.
A major coup for the club has been securing international television rights on the ESPNStar network, which allows it to promote its offering to an emerging Asian market.
“We have a three-hour block on January 17 and we will be weaving our supporters into that. Our game is an international sport and Asia is our neighbour and they are developing their game,” Mr Vlahov said.
ESPNStar network is picked up by 33 million homes throughout Asia, including 19 million homes in China.
Mr Vlahov said he was hopeful of securing a bigger network for the 2005 event, which would televise the match and concert into 125 million homes.
The Summer Jam will take place on Saturday January 17 and will feature R&B artist J Wess, Selwyn, and Perth rock acts Spencer Tracy and Eskimo Joe.
Mr Vlahov said the concert provided an avenue to capture a younger demographic, which was vital to fostering club membership and support
