Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Top News
Reuters top ten news stories delivered to your inbox each day.
Subscribe
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
Your View
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
Your View
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
NBA reality show another step for growth in China
Thu Apr 2, 2009 8:10am EDT
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Ben Klayman
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Watch out "Dancing with the Stars" and "American Idol." The National Basketball Association is launching its latest reality TV show, but fans will have to understand Mandarin Chinese to watch it.
"Mengniu NBA Basketball Disciple," airing in China starting in May, is part of the NBA's effort to build its popularity in the world's most populous country. The show follows the formation of a partnership that could lead to an NBA-backed league in China.
"We're having an incredibly exciting season here in run-up to the playoffs and you can absolutely feel that very much in China just as if you were in any of the cities here in the U.S.," said Heidi Ueberroth, president of the NBA's international business. "The popularity of the game in China is at an all-time high."
The NBA has supported Chinese basketball for decades, including first hosting the Chinese national team in 1985. Chinese interest spiked after 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming joined the NBA in 2002. The league now has 51 different networks broadcasting games in China.
The push in China comes as the NBA struggles with the U.S. recession, which forced it to cut 9 percent of league jobs.
Nevertheless, Commissioner David Stern told Reuters last month NBA revenue was up slightly and attendance was holding steady. Despite slower international growth overall, NBA revenue in China, the league's largest international market, is rising 30 percent to 40 percent per year.
"In China, the NBA has a chance to be alone among the major global sports," said Robert Boland, professor of sports management at New York University. "It really becomes very clear that this is where new revenue comes from."
HOOPING WITH THE STARS
The Chinese reality TV show is the NBA's sixth such program overall since 2002, but the first outside the United States.
The show, a basketball competition in 64 cities involving retired NBA stars, will be broadcast on Shandong TV in mainland China on Friday nights from May 22 to August 28. The winner will receive an all-expense paid trip to try out for the NBA's lower-level developmental league.
Chinese dairy company Mengniu, an NBA marketing partner since 2007, is the show's main sponsor. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
An estimated 300 million people -- a total equal to the entire U.S. population -- play basketball in China, the NBA said, citing data provided by the Chinese Basketball Association. China's government also is planning to build basketball courts in up to 800,000 rural villages.
The number of viewers of league programing in China rose 34 percent last season to a record 1.6 billion, while traffic on the Chinese section of NBA.com has surged more than 50 percent.
The league has more than 130 employees in four offices in China. In October, it formed a joint venture with sports and entertainment group AEG to build at least a dozen "NBA-style" arenas in major cities throughout greater China, and in January 2008 the league formed NBA China, a venture that could evolve into an NBA-affiliated league.
NBA China investors include Walt Disney Co's ESPN sports unit, an investment unit of Bank of China Ltd, Legend Holdings Ltd, China Merchant Group and Li Ka Shing Foundation. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
Yahoo!
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
Lady GaGa claims chart milestone with second No. 1
also on reuters
Blog: Brown gets helping hand from Obama
CEOs wait too long before filing bankruptcy
Video
Video: Pricing crucial for housing rebound
More Entertainment News
Malawi government backs Madonna adoption attempt
| Video
Another "Idol" elimination narrows field to eight
Lady GaGa claims chart milestone with second No. 1
Metallica to be two-bassist band at Hall of Fame
X-Men pic "Wolverine" leaks online
More Entertainment News...
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
G20 to bulk up IMF in response to crisis | Video
GM asks U.S. gov't for $2.6 bln to build hybrids
U.S. could face second recession next year | Video
UPDATE 1-Malicious virus quiet, but attack may be in works
Apple's iPhone emerges as gaming platform
WRAPUP 7-March US auto sales plunge, but bottom may be near
North Korea starts fuelling rocket, makes new threat | Video
As Wall Street suffers, Manhattan apartment prices fall
CEOs wait too long before filing bankruptcy
Mark-to-market rule set to lose a few teeth
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Problems in Afghanistan
G20 Riot police charge protesters
Obama and Hu meet in London
Deadly UK chopper crash
G20 summit begins
Illusionist floats in mid-air
Pricing crucial for housing rebound
Netanyahu becomes Israel's PM
HIV on video
G20 set to end unfettered capitalism
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.