NBA China Games To Reach 209 Countries

All Three Games to Air Nationwide in ChinaNEW YORK, October 16, 2007 – The NBA China Games 2007, featuring three exhibition games between the Orlando Magic, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Team China All-Stars in Shanghai and Macao from October 17-20, is a global event that will be televised in 209 countries in 13 languages.

In China, the China Games will air nationwide on CCTV5 while the Shanghai Media Group (SMG) and Guangdong TV (GDTV) will air each of the games locally in Shanghai and the Guangdong province, respectively. In the U.S, the games will air on NBA TV and ESPN2.

Over 200 media members will attend each game in Shanghai and Macao and bring the action back to fans throughout China and around the world. There will be 23 television and radio networks and websites on-site including three who will be calling the game live from commentary positions.

In addition to traditional radio and television broadcasting, NBA fans will be able to experience the Shanghai game in High Definition format on SiTV. The games will also be available through a range of digital platforms and devices, including NBA.com/China and, for the first time, on mobile phones via cn.nba.com as well as through Internet Protocol Television on SMG's BesTV channel.

Special China Games programming will be available throughout China on NBA Zhi Zao (Chinese translation of Made in the NBA), the NBA's popular weekly show that combines the lifestyle of basketball with Chinese popular culture. The show will fuse these elements through pre-game, halftime and post-game interviews with players from both teams, locker room access and interviews with Chinese celebrity guests Jet Li and Karen Mok. Chinese celebrity personalities David Wu and Wang Guan will be the onsite commentators for the broadcast.

NBA.com/china will provide comprehensive coverage of the China Games including live streaming of all three games through the league’s partnership with Sohu.com. Website reporters will go on-camera to give fans an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the China Games. Fans were given the chance to interact directly with All-Stars LeBron James (Cleveland) and Rashard Lewis (Orlando) through live fan chats. A China Games mini-site launched in September that features a video section with team highlights, a 2004 China Games recap and player vignettes.

The NBA will host the first-ever live, simultaneous HD viewing parties in China. The viewing parties, broadcast on Shanghai Interactive Television Co. (SiTV) and SMG, will take place in Shanghai and Beijing with a capacity of 800 and 300, respectively, and feature appearances from A-list Chinese artists such as actor Jet Li, recording artist Fan Fan and Zhou Bichang - winner from China’s most popular talent search competition, “Super Girls,” an appearance from NBA legend Darryl Dawkins and a two-way feed between the arena and the viewing party in Shanghai.

"The China Games is the most comprehensive event the NBA has ever staged in China and the fan interest throughout China and around the world has been tremendous,” said Heidi Ueberroth, NBA President of Global Marketing Partnerships and International Business Operations. “Between complete coverage from our global network of television partners and new digital initiatives we hope to offer as many fans as possible the chance to enjoy the NBA China Games 2007.”

NBA China Games 2007 will tip off on Oct. 17 with a game between the Cavaliers and the Magic in Shanghai at the Qizhong Forest Sports City arena. The event will then head to Macao where there will be two games at the new Venetian Arena. On Oct. 18, the Magic will take on the Team China All-Stars, and a rematch between the Magic and the Cavaliers will take place on Oct. 20.

Last season the NBA added 24 TV partners in China and currently has relationships with 51 TV stations that provided NBA programming to 34 million viewers per week and more than 1.2 billion viewers for the 2006-07 season. With 300 million people playing basketball in China, approximately 80% of males 15-24 in the top 11 cities of China considering themselves NBA fans and 20% of traffic to NBA.com coming from China, basketball is rapidly growing in popularity. The league maintains marketing partnerships in China with 20 of the world’s leading brands and makes products available to fans in more than 50,000 locations. The NBA is conducting more than 170 special events in 112 cities in Greater China including the NBA China Games 2007.

source : NBA.com