The National Basketball Association has formed a Chinese arm,
NBA China, to enhance the professional league's presence in the
country.
Five strategic investors -- ESPN, the US sports cable television
channel, Bank of China Group Investment, Legend Holdings Limited,
Li Ka Shing Foundation and China Merchants Investments -- will
acquire a total of 11 percent of the company for a combined US$253
million in preferred equity.
Timothy Chen, a former chief executive officer of Microsoft
China, is the CEO of the new company.
"NBA China will develop a wide range of businesses to expand its
presence, including Internet, entertainment and new NBA franchise
stores," Chen told Shanghai Daily yesterday in a telephone
interview.
The company's revenue will maintain a double digit growth as
well as its scale of employment -- it now has about 100 staff in
China, he said.
"The company now focuses on online live broadcasts, the online
community and online services on mobile phones," Chen said.
The establishment of NBA China will not change the way it
operates at present as in its cooperation with local TV stations,
he said.
The NBA enjoys great popularity in China, where it became the
first American sports league to play games in 2004.
"More games can be expected in China after last year's
exhibition games in Shanghai and Macau," Chen said.
NBA has become one of the most influential foreign games in
China after four local players Wang Zhizhi, Mengke Bateer, Yao Ming
and Yi Jianlian began playing in the NBA. The absence of these
players can slash the NBA's TV ratings in China.
In November, the game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Houston
Rockets drew massive TV ratings in November as Yao played against
Yi for the first time in NBA history.
The game aired on 19 Chinese mainland television stations and
was available on two Webcasts and on video-enabled wireless
phones.
The NBA has worked for years to expand its presence in China, as
there are an estimated 300 million people playing basketball.
NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver called NBA China a
"partnership" with the CBA, where Yao and Yi both played before
moving to the NBA.
"We're anticipating that basketball will be one of the hottest
venues at this summer's Olympics and in fact this may be the ideal
launching pad for an expanded Chinese league," Silver said.
NBA Commissioner David Stern said in a statement on Monday that
"the opportunity for basketball and the NBA in China is simply
extraordinary."
"The expertise, resources and shared vision of these immensely
successful companies will help us to achieve the potential we see
in the region," Stern said.
"The strategic investment from these companies will allow us to
continue working with the General Administration of Sports and the
Chinese Basketball Association to grow our sport and emphasize, in
both rural and urban Chinese communities, its contributions to
fitness, healthy lifestyle and an appreciation of teamwork," Stern
said.
Li Yuanwei, CBA's vice president and secretary general, said the
NBA and the CBA can expand upon their past cooperation to further
develop basketball in China with the support of the strategic
investors and additional investments in China.
(Shanghai Daily January 16, 2008)