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NBA to open first overseas store in Wangfujing

By Liu Baijia (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-11-29 11:04

China is the NBA's largest market with an annual growth rate of 50 per cent in recent years.

The US sports league, which started to co-operate with the Chinese national broadcaster CCTV in 1987, signed 14 new broadcasters this year to expand the coverage of games. Most of these broadcasters are in western or inland regions such as Tibet and Xinjiang or counties such as Jinshan in Shanghai.

Currently, as many as 51 TV and radio broadcasters show 10 NBA games a week. The NBA All Stars game this year had 232 million Chinese viewers, 30 per cent higher than last year.

Like many multinational firms, the NBA hopes to penetrate beyond China's larger cities into the whole of the country, it said.

Besides retailing, the NBA is also looking to technology to spread its product. Ueberroth said the it's in talks with China Mobile to bring mobile content to the telecom's 290 million subscribers, such as game news, scores, and video clips.

China's booming Internet sector is another place for growth. Last year, the NBA signed an agreement with the Chinese firm Nusports to broadcast 42 games live on the Internet.