The NBA will finally return to Chinese television after state broadcaster CCTV announced it would be showing Game 5 of the finals between Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat.
The move comes one year after the channel suspended its coverage of the NBA amid fall-out from Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s tweet in support of Hong Kong protestors. Although some games have since been available through Tencent’s online platform, CCTV has maintained a blanket ban on live games for the last 12 months.
One year on and estimates put the NBA’s loss of China revenue since the incident at more than 200 million USD. Yet there appears to have been little loss of appetite among Chinese fans for NBA action, even if the Rockets are likely to remain out in the cold for some time to come.
The announcement, which came late Friday evening in China, immediately picked up attention on Chinese social media. Weibo posts about the news quickly racked up thousands of likes.
Although the game may well end up being the last one of this season, the NBA will be hoping this is a signal that there is a path back to better relations in its biggest overseas market.
For a look at how NBA players have built long-lasting relationships in China beyond the usual product endorsement tours, hit "Read more" at the bottom of this post.
More from RADII