NuSports has teamed up with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to unveil live video webcasts and video-on-demand (VOD) of NBA games in China, as part of a new relationship that will feature top NBA programming on NuSports' website at nusports.cn.
The deal will stretch into the remainder of the 2005-06 NBA season.
The announcement further expands the NBA's overall coverage in China, which currently consists of 24 broadcast partners.
NBA fans in China will have access to 42 live webcasts and VOD of NBA games from the current season, including 30 regular season and 12 Playoff games, along with 20 NBA classic games on NuSports' Web site. The live NBA games will be called in Mandarin by experienced NBA broadcasters and will remain on the site for 24 hours for fans to view on-demand.
NBA Action, a half-hour weekly program featuring top NBA video highlights of the week, Top 10 Plays of the Day and live webcasts of 2006 WNBA games will also be available for fans to view through NuSports. The live webcasts, and all NBA broadband video content on the Web site, will be available to users in China for free.
Along with the NBA live webcasts and programming, NuSports will also debut a free on-line NBA fantasy game in China, allowing fans to be a General Manager and create their own NBA teams. Real-time statistics, statistical leaders, scores, player statistics, transactions and injury reports will be provided in conjunction with the fantasy game.
NBA.com was the first professional sports league in the U.S. to offer language-specific international Web destinations for fans, including the launch of NBA.com/China in November 2002. The NBA continues to gain popularity in China as 30 million viewers' watch NBA programming via 24 television outlets including national TV station China Central Television, merchandise is sold in over 20,000 retail outlets throughout the country and the NBA has signed five new marketing partners in China since 2005-2006.
