ESPN is reporting that the NBA playoffs are back for China’s TV viewers after a long banishment over controvesial political statements by an executive.The ESPN story by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Steve Fainaru said the return is not being trumpeted by the league, which declined to directly address the return.
Instead, it gave a spokeman’s statement extolling the NBA’s right to “inspire and connect people everywhere.’The story noted the NBA owners collectively have more than $10 billion in asset exposure to China, as well as doing $5 billion of NBA business in the country.
That presumably includes broadcast and intenet rights, as well as merchandising and sponsorships.Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey angerred the Chinese government by tweeting “First for Freedom.
Stand with Hong Kong” during the uprising in that city.ESPN estimates that tweet cost the league hundreds of millions of dollars.
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