(Editor’s note: This story is updated from a previous version to note that NBA games are appearing on some smaller TV networks in China.)
While other news has dominated sports headlines since the impasse began in 2019, the Chinese government continues to quietly keep the NBA largely off the air in the world’s largest basketball market.
The TV exile began in October 2019 when then-Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy demonstrators facing a violent crackdown by mainland China’s authoritarian communist government.
It was a costly tweet for the NBA. Beijing quickly booted the league’s games off the air and from the country’s major streaming service, a major blow for a league that craves the enormous Chinese hoops audience and its money.
A year later, there appeared to be a thaw in the impasse. State-run China Central Television (CCTV) announced on Oct. 9 that it…
Read More: The NBA is still exiled from much of China’s vast TV market – The Athletic