George Aivazoglou

Head of Fan Engagement & Directo-to-Consumer

NBA Europe & Middle East

As Head of Fan Engagement and Direct-to-Consumer for the NBA in Europe and the Middle East (EME), George Aivazoglou oversees the league’s DTC business (NBA App, NBA League Pass, Ticketing) as well as the Marketing, Communications, Events, Content and Social Media teams in EME, unifying all fan touchpoints across the region with a focus on the league’s direct-to-consumer offerings. Since Aivazoglou joined the NBA in June 2020, NBA League Pass and the league’s 18 in-language social media channels in Europe and the Middle East have seen record engagement, with the number of NBA League Pass subscriptions in the region growing 30% over that time. Aivazoglou also oversaw the launch of the new NBA App in Europe and the Middle East in October 2022 which included the production of an eight-part docuseries entitled “Hoop Cities” that explores the local culture, history and basketball communities surrounding the game in key European cities. He also recently led all event strategy, planning and execution for the NBA’s first games in the Arabian Gulf when the Milwaukee Bucks and the Atlanta Hawks played two preseason games as part of The NBA Abu Dhabi Games 2022, which welcomed fans from 59 countries.Additional fan activities in conjunction with the games included “NBA District,” an immersive, interactive fan event that welcomed thousands of fans over the course of the week. Under Aivazoglou’s leadership, the NBA also launched Arabic-language social media channels in July 2022 (@NBAArabic), becoming the first U.S. professional sports league to do so. Prior to joining the NBA, Aivazoglou served as Vice President of Marketing and Analytics for Eurosport, leading all brand, subscriber acquisition, retention and insight efforts across linear and digital platforms globally. Prior to Eurosport, Aivazoglou was Chief Marketing Officer at EZBob Ltd, a leading fin-tech scale up, and is a senior digital executive with more than 15 years’ experience in the media, entertainment and telecoms industries, having previously held leadership roles at Sky and T-Mobile International. Aivazoglou graduated from the University of Macedonia with a B.Sc. in International Business and Economics and holds an M.Sc. in Marketing from Athens University of Economics and Business. Born in Thessaloniki, Greece, George has lived in London for the past decade.