The NBA and Chinese fintech giant Ant Group have struck a strategic relationship in China, allowing Chinese fans to access NBA video content via Alipay. The partnership will also include collaborative marketing campaigns, digital collectibles, and other initiatives. A channel on Alipay that features user-generated content from NBA China’s network of influencers and content producers was introduced last week.
The NBA is a well-known cultural export to China, and its popularity there generates millions of dollars in income each year. Nevertheless, after former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey stated his support for anti-government demonstrators in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong in 2019, the NBA’s relationship with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV became strained. After China’s condemnation of Morey’s comments, CCTV withdrew NBA games. When Morey originally upset “many of our friends and supporters in China,” the NBA apologized and declared as much. Then, the league released another statement reasserting its commitment to free expression.
When Freedom, a Boston Celtics player at the time, donned sneakers that criticized China’s persecution of Tibet, the Chinese video-streaming service Tencent withdrew the Boston Celtics game off their schedule in 2021. Despite complaints from several NBA staff members, the league’s games were once again broadcast in China past March. The NBA’s dedication to free expression was reaffirmed by commissioner Adam Silver in June, who claimed that the organization had lost “hundreds of millions” of revenue as a result of the blackout. Silver also defended the NBA’s economic ties with China in light of its human rights violations, noting that other American businesses also conduct business there.
Silver noted that almost all Fortune 100 companies conduct business in China, and that the US government should provide guidance on the issue. He also noted that NBA fans in China are watching games at levels similar to those before Morey’s remarks in 2019.
