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All Chinese-owned official partners have now halted business with the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the fallout continues from the tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
On 4th October, Morey posted a quickly-deleted Hong Kong pro-freedom message from which the Rockets and the NBA distanced themselves.
Earlier this week, CCTV, China's state broadcaster, and Tencent, which owns NBA digital streaming rights in China, said they would suspend their NBA pre-season broadcast arrangements for the exhibition games taking place in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
The first of those two games went ahead after much speculation it would be cancelled, with CNN reporting that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets were given a warm reception in Shanghai.
The initial response to Morey’s tweet in China also saw the Rockets’ local partners suspend relations with the franchise and broadcasters announce they would stop showing the team’s games. That commercial impact has escalated further to now being league-wide.
Smartphone brand Vivo; China’s biggest travel website, CTrip; dairy products company, Mengniu; fast food chain, Dicos; skincare brand, Wzun; home appliance group, Changhong Electric; sportswear giant, Anta; China Mobile subsidiary, Migu; food brand, Master Kong; car rental company, eHi Car Services; home appliance manufacturer, Meiling; and financial firm, Xiaoying Technology have all suspended their NBA relations.
Vivo’s statement on social media platform Weibo confirming its actions said the decision was based on ‘national interest’, adding that it firmly opposes any behaviour that constitutes a challenge to China’s ‘national sovereignty and territorial integrity’.
Clear, a hair-care brand owned by multinational Unilever, has said it would suspend all ties with the NBA in China despite having no ties to the country.
Following mixed messages from the league in the immediate aftermath of the incident, NBA commissioner Adam Silver expressed regret over the hurt that had been caused by the post, but backed the right to free expression for all associated with the league.
“Daryl Morey, as general manager of the Houston Rockets, enjoys that right [to free speech] as one of our employees,” Silver said. “What I also tried to suggest is that I understand there are consequences from his freedom of speech and we will have to live with those consequences.”
This caused further anger in China but despite seeing the exhibition game broadcasts pulled, Silver maintained his position.
Commenting on that development, Silver said he was not expecting it, but said: “If those are the consequences of us adhering to our values, I still feel it’s very, very important to adhere to those values.”
The impact on the Houston Rockets, formerly one of the most popular NBA teams in China as a result of Yao Ming’s career with the franchise, has been swift and demonstrative. Sneakers and other Rockets merchandise were pulled from several Nike stores in major Chinese cities, according to Reuters. Major Chinese ecommerce platforms Alibaba and JD.com have pulled Houston Rockets merchandise off their sales platforms, including mobile apps.
All Chinese-owned official partners have now halted business with the NBA as the fallout continues from Daryl Morey's tweet
All Chinese-owned official partners have now halted business with the National Basketball Association (NBA) as the fallout continues from the tweet by Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
On 4th October, Morey posted a quickly-deleted Hong Kong pro-freedom message from which the Rockets and the NBA distanced themselves.
Earlier this week, CCTV, China's state broadcaster, and Tencent, which owns NBA digital streaming rights in China, said they would suspend their NBA pre-season broadcast arrangements for the exhibition games taking place in Shanghai and Shenzhen.
The first of those two games went ahead after much speculation it would be cancelled, with CNN reporting that the Los Angeles Lakers and the Brooklyn Nets were given a warm reception in Shanghai.
The initial response to Morey’s tweet in China also saw the Rockets’ local partners suspend relations with the franchise and broadcasters announce they would stop showing the team’s games. That commercial impact has escalated further to now being league-wide.
Smartphone brand Vivo; China’s biggest travel website, CTrip; dairy products company, Mengniu; fast food chain, Dicos; skincare brand, Wzun; home appliance group, Changhong Electric; sportswear giant, Anta; China Mobile subsidiary, Migu; food brand, Master Kong; car rental company, eHi Car Services; home appliance manufacturer, Meiling; and financial firm, Xiaoying Technology have all suspended their NBA relations.
Vivo’s statement on social media platform Weibo confirming its actions said the decision was based on ‘national interest’, adding that it firmly opposes any behaviour that constitutes a challenge to China’s ‘national sovereignty and territorial integrity’.
Clear, a hair-care brand owned by multinational Unilever, has said it would suspend all ties with the NBA in China despite having no ties to the country.
Following mixed messages from the league in the immediate aftermath of the incident, NBA commissioner Adam Silver expressed regret over the hurt that had been caused by the post, but backed the right to free expression for all associated with the league.
“Daryl Morey, as general manager of the Houston Rockets, enjoys that right [to free speech] as one of our employees,” Silver said. “What I also tried to suggest is that I understand there are consequences from his freedom of speech and we will have to live with those consequences.”
This caused further anger in China but despite seeing the exhibition game broadcasts pulled, Silver maintained his position.
Commenting on that development, Silver said he was not expecting it, but said: “If those are the consequences of us adhering to our values, I still feel it’s very, very important to adhere to those values.”
The impact on the Houston Rockets, formerly one of the most popular NBA teams in China as a result of Yao Ming’s career with the franchise, has been swift and demonstrative. Sneakers and other Rockets merchandise were pulled from several Nike stores in major Chinese cities, according to Reuters. Major Chinese ecommerce platforms Alibaba and JD.com have pulled Houston Rockets merchandise off their sales platforms, including mobile apps.
