NBA Could Return To Chinese TV Starting With All-Star Game

NBA matches could return to Chinese state broadcasting as soon as February 16, according to Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai.

The standoff between the NBA and the Chinese state continues following Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s controversial Tweet in the summer.

During a preseason trip to China, Morey Tweeted in support of the Hong Kong protestors. The controversy put into jeopardy the NBA’s business relationship with China, and resulted in NBA games being removed from the Chinese state broadcaster’s schedule. 

Joe Tsai, a Canadian-Taiwanese businessman, thinks that the NBA will soon return to Chinese television, starting with the NBA All-Star game on Feb 16.

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“Tsai is eager to see NBA games back on [state run] CCTV. Although [streaming service] Tencent has begun showing them again, the state-owned broadcaster has yet to budge. A person familiar with the matter says the league is optimistic the network will relent, beginning with the All-Star Game on Feb. 16—there’s no ready replacement, after all, for LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo,” Via Bloomberg.

“Once you are on the air,” Tsai says, “everything will come back.”

Something that works in the NBA’s favor here is the fact that there is a younger generation of Chinese who want to watch the NBA.

As well as that, money talks. The league and China are entangled financially, and nobody knows how to untangle them. Ultimately, no one wants to lose money so it is likely a solution will be found sooner rather than later.

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However, the Chinese government does not take kindly to dissenting voices. They will remember Daryl Morey’s comments for a long time. As a result, the Houston Rockets may have to wait longer to return to Chinese television than the other 30 NBA teams. Adam Silver and the rest of the league brass will be hoping for an explosive All-Star game to remind China what it is missing.