China’s CCTV airs NBA game for first time in 18 months

State-owned China Central Television (CCTV) has finally shown a National Basketball Association (NBA) game after 18 months, signaling the latest de-escalation of tensions between the parties.

CCTV, which has exclusive TV rights in China for the NBA, aired the Los Angeles Clippers and the Utah Jazz on 29th March, according to the network’s broadcasting schedule.

CCTV last aired a game in October 2020.

In October 2019, the broadcaster halted league coverage in reaction to a tweet from Daryl Morey, the general manager of the Houston Rockets at the time, expressing support for anti-government demonstrators in Hong Kong.

In addition to the items being removed from stores, Chinese sponsors have discontinued their relationships with the NBA and its teams. NBA commissioner Adam Silver predicted the league would lose "hundreds of millions of dollars" as a result of the aftermath in February 2020.

Following an initial suspension, NBA games were made available on Tencent's streaming service in China.