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The NBA and Chinese fintech Ant Group have formed a strategic partnership in China to work on various projects including video content, broadcasting and membership, Ant Group announced on Tuesday.
Chinese fans would get access to NBA video content on Alipay, a payment app owned by Ant Group, the company said in a statement.
The relationship between the NBA and Ant Group will also include joint marketing campaigns, digital collectibles and other areas, according to the statement.
Last week, NBA China launched a channel on Alipay showcasing user-generated content from NBA China’s network of influencers and Alipay’s authorized content creators.
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The NBA and Chinese fintech company Ant Group have formed a strategic partnership in China to work on various projects such as video content, broadcasting and membership. (Portal photos)
The NBA is a popular cultural export to China, and the basketball league’s presence in the Chinese market brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. But the NBA’s longstanding partnership with Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has been strained in recent years after former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey expressed his support for anti-government protesters in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong in 2019.
Morey, now general manager of the Philadelphia 76ers, shared a picture on Twitter in October 2019 that read, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong.” He later deleted the tweet, saying he didn’t want to offend Rockets fans or the people of China.
China condemned Morey’s tweet and shortly after, NBA games were removed from CCTV.
The NBA initially said Morey’s tweet was “regrettable” and that he “deeply offended many of our friends and fans in China.” The league later issued another statement, saying it remains committed to freedom of expression.
NBA free agent Enes Kanter Freedom, an outspoken critic of China for its human rights abuses, has repeatedly denounced Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James and other athletes for doing business with China.
Chinese fans would be able to access NBA video content on Alipay, an Ant Group payment app. (Portal photos)
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In 2021, Chinese video-streaming site Tencent pulled a Boston Celtics game after Freedom, then playing for the team, wore shoes criticizing China’s treatment of Tibet.
But despite criticism of China from some NBA staffers, the league’s games returned to Chinese television last March. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in June that the league had lost “hundreds of millions” of dollars from the 18-month blackout, but reiterated the NBA’s commitment to freedom of speech.
“If the consequences are that we’re taken off the air or we lose money, we’ll take that,” Silver said at the time.
In his June speech, the commissioner also addressed criticism of the NBA’s business ties with China over human rights abuses against the Uyghur population and noted that a number of other US companies also do business with the country.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in June that the league lost “hundreds of millions” of dollars because league games went unmonitored for 18 months. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, file)
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“Politically, virtually every Fortune 100 company does business in China,” Silver said. “We have a tremendous, tremendous trading relationship with China. Virtually all the phones in this room, the clothes you wear, the shoes you wear are made in China. From a societal perspective, we need to contact the US government for guidance.”
According to league viewership data, NBA fans in China are now watching games at a similar level as before Morey’s comments in 2019.
Portal contributed to this report.