NBA, CCTV to expand partnership

China Central Television (CCTV), China's national television station, CCTV Future Advertising and NBA China on Tuesday announced a new, comprehensive multi-year television partnership that includes a significant expansion of NBA coverage and the formation of a joint media team to market and promote NBA broadcasts.

This new agreement also marks a key milestone, as the companies celebrate the 26th anniversary of their partnership to provide access to the NBA and enhance the game of basketball in China. The announcement was made at a press conference featuring Li Ting, deputy chief editor of CCTV, Jiang Heping, director of CCTV-5, Zhang Yong, general manager of CCTV Future Advertising, Yin Tiegang, deputy general manager of CCTV Future Advertising, David Shoemaker, CEO of NBA China, and Collins Qian, COO of NBA China.

The partnership includes live NBA games, tape-delayed games aired in prime time and NBA original programming. With CCTV-5's expertise in sports TV production and the NBA's extensive High-Definition footage archives, the companies will create a customized NBA-themed weekly show with in-depth analysis and all-access reports around the league produced exclusively for fans in China.

CCTV Future Advertising, an advertising arm of CCTV, also entered into a partnership with NBA China to become official media partner on CCTV-5, forging a deeper and broader cooperation.

"We look forward to a new era of basketball coverage with the NBA, as basketball game broadcasts are among the most popular programs on CCTV-5," said Jiang. "The NBA represents the best professional basketball league in the world and we are thrilled to bring our fans more authentic NBA excitement through our comprehensive coverage."

"We're thrilled to expand our partnership with CCTV and to introduce the most comprehensive NBA programming ever for our fans in China," said Shoemaker. "Our new collaboration with CCTV will provide the highest quality original productions and customized shows for fans as well as first time, unique branded opportunities for advertisers."

CCTV-5 will air live NBA games each week on Tuesday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday. Fans will also enjoy tape-delayed marquee NBA games, NBA highlights and a customized weekly NBA themed show in prime time. In addition to the extensive coverage of NBA regular season and playoff games, CCTV-5 will also broadcast live the Eastern and Western Conference Finals, the NBA Finals and NBA All-Star events including the All-Star Game, State Farm NBA All-Star Saturday Night and the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge. There will also be special NBA programming as part of the league's Chinese New Year celebration, which follows last season's successful inaugural event.

The NBA's partnership with CCTV began with the 1987 All-Star Game, the first-ever NBA broadcast in China. In its continuous effort to deliver the most exciting NBA action, both on and off the court, CCTV has used a dedicated live feed to capture all the sights, sounds and excitement of the NBA All-Star Game since 2005.

Also, during the 2010 and 2012 NBA Finals, fans were able to enjoy the NBA from a unique additional vantage point through a multi-window screen. The 2012 NBA Chinese New Year celebration also marked the first time the NBA and CCTV came together to televise games on eight successive days, which drew record audiences.