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NBA plans Chinese invasion
TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- Having conquered Japan in the 1990s on the back of the Michael Jordan factor, the National Basketball Association (NBA) now plans to take China by storm. "Our experience in China has been that it is going to be explosive in its growth,'' NBA commissioner David Stern told Reuters in an interview on Friday. "The China strategy is television, always television. We've made 14 deals in China with local and national networks over there in cable and satellite.'' The success of giant Chinese centre Yao Ming, who plays for the Houston Rockets, has paved the way for an NBA marketing blitz in China. "We're seeing very much a capitalistic side that is very familiar to us,'' said Stern. "As China has attempted to prepare itself to compete, a lot of the old stratagems have gone by the wayside and it's good old-fashioned capitalism.'' The NBA, staging regular-season games in Japan this week for the sixth time, will put that to the test in October 2004 when the Rockets play two pre-season games against the Sacramento Kings in Beijing and Shanghai. For the time being, however, Japan remains the biggest money-spinner in Asia for the NBA, despite having no players in the league. "Japan in itself is a very important market. It's the only place we've played regular-season games,'' said Stern, explaining that NBA teams must be compensated for playing regular-season games abroad as it costs them arena revenue. "It's not necessarily about having a player in the NBA. It's also about appreciating the young fan and there are many of those here in Japan. Hip-hop coolClose-cropped teenagers in hip-hop baggy jeans and Allen Iverson, Kevin Garnett or Jordan replica shirts, are easy to spot in trendy areas of Tokyo such as Harajuku and Shibuya. "This is a huge potential market for us,'' said Stern. "When you look at the power of television and you look at the marketing and consumer product companies, from Toyota to Sony, Matsushita, you name it, you're looking at an enormous amount of activity and potential activity. "Probably we could be talking about hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars.'' Tickets for the two games between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Seattle Supersonics in Saitama this week cost between $150 and $450 from licensed vendors. Stern said the NBA was trying to increase its profitability in Japan and Asia still further by securing tie-ups with Japanese companies in China. China market"Japanese companies are moving very aggressively to make sure that they don't get shut out of the China market,'' he said. "We are actually talking to many Japanese companies about affiliations with them in China.'' Such has been the globalisation of the NBA that games are now broadcast in over 200 countries in 42 languages and 20 percent of rosters this season are filled by non-American players. "It's number one Asia, number two Europe, number three Latin America...but they're all very promising,'' said Stern. "But our growth in China has been the greatest in terms of percentage.'' Asked how much NBA tickets would cost in China next year, Stern replied: "I assure you the ticket prices will be much, much, much lower than Saitama.'' Copyright 2003 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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