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NBA and Ant Group have signed a strategic partnership deal for digital collectibles and joint marketing promotions, and other businesses in China. The Chinese fintech firm said that together with the National Basketball Association, it would work on various projects such as broadcasting, video content, and membership.
As per Fox Business, NBA and Ant Group confirmed their deal on Tuesday, Feb. 21. Through this collaboration, fans of the basketball league in China will easily gain access to NBA video content through the ant Group's online payment app, Alipay.
It was last week when the Chinese unit of the NBA launched a channel on Alipay that show user-generated content from the basketball league's network of influencers, including Alipay's authorized content creators.
It was said that NBA is a popular cultural export to China. In fact, the presence of the league in the Chinese market reportedly brings in hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue. Then again, it was noted that the NBA's longtime business cooperation with CCTV, the local state broadcaster TV network, was strained after Daryl Morey, a former Houston Rockets general manager, expressed his support for anti-government protestors in Hong Kong in 2019.
Today, Morey moved to Philadephia 76ers as general manager, and what caused the strained relationship was his Twitter post on October 2019 that simply reads, "Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong."
He may have deleted the post later and apologized by saying it was not his intention to offend the Chinese Rockets fans or the citizens of China. But as they say, the damage has been done and the NBA games were pulled from CCTV after he was criticized by the government as well.
Meanwhile, Reuters reported that NBA and Ant Group's collaboration deal is already in effect, and Chinese basketball fans may now enjoy the games and other content related to it again. Fans can also expect to see NFTs or digital collectibles through this new deal.
Photo by: Kenny Eliason/Unsplash
