NEW YORK – The National Basketball Association (NBA) concluded its first-ever NBA Chinese New Year Celebration, which reached a total of 96 million viewers across the league’s television and digital platforms in China.

The inaugural, week-long celebration took place from Jan. 21 to 28 and paid tribute to the league’s Chinese fan base with a special 21-game broadcast schedule, customized content, and a variety of Chinese New Year-themed events in China and the U.S.  The NBA Chinese New Year Celebration was conducted in China and the U.S. in conjunction with the league’s television, digital, and marketing partners, along with NBA teams.

The game broadcasts on NBA television partners in China – which include CCTV 5, BTV, GDTV, and GZTV – attracted a total of 79 million total viewers. 17 million total viewers watched live NBA games and special programming on digital partners Sina and Tencent.

The NBA Chinese New Year Celebration builds on the strong fan interest for the NBA in China this season.  The NBA has seen increased national television viewership and digital consumption, along with a growing social media presence, while it continues its efforts to grow the game in partnership with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA).  Highlights include:

TELEVISION AND DIGITAL MEDIA:

• 2011-12 live games on CCTV5 up 39% compared to the same period of last season.
• Last season, the NBA was watched by more fans than ever before on TV and digital with more than 1300 games available on TV, online, and mobile.
• NBA digital figures in China broke several records last season, including:
  • 7 billion page views on NBA.com/China and the NBA section of Sina, up 43%.
  • 7 billion live video streams, up 226%.

SOCIAL MEDIA AND ONLINE PRESENCE:

• The NBA is the most followed sports league in China with more than 41 million followers across all social media platforms.
• The NBA is the #1 overall brand on both the Sina Weibo and Tencent microblog platforms.

BASKETBALL:

• In partnership with the CBA, the NBA launched the first-ever CBA Dongguan Basketball School – an NBA Training Center. The first such facility anywhere in the world, elite players ages 12-17 receive comprehensive NBA basketball training and a first class education.
• Over the last three year, the NBA and CBA have conducted a joint coaching development program which has trained more than 200 Chinese coaches to date.