NBA returns to Chinese state TV a year after Daryl Morey Hong Kong tweet controversy
- Potentially decisive Game Five of the NBA Finals between Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat shown on CCTV-5
- League had been off air from Chinese terrestrial television as part of fallout from Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s tweet
NBA basketball returned to Chinese state television on Saturday morning with game five of the NBA Finals broadcast live on CCTV-5.
CCTV announced the return in a statement on Friday, a year after broadcasts ceased amid the fallout from Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey’s tweet supporting Hong Kong’s anti-government protesters on October 4, 2019.
“During the recent Chinese National Day and Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations, the NBA sent their well wishes to fans in China,” CCTV said in a statement. “We also took note of the league has been continuously delivering goodwill, particularly making positive contributions to Chinese people‘s fight against Covid-19 pandemic.”
The NBA donated medical equipment worth 18.5 million yuan (US$2.72 million) to hospitals in Wuhan since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, state media reported.
NBA games have been screened in China since the 1990s but had been off air on Chinese terrestrial television for the duration of the 2019-20 season.