(Editor’s note: This story has been updated from a previous version to note that NBA games appear on some smaller TV networks in China.)
While other news has dominated sports headlines since the dead end began in 2019, the Chinese government continues to keep the NBA largely out of the air in the world’s largest basketball market.
The TV exile began in October 2019 when Daryl Morey, then general manager of the Houston Rockets, tweeted in support of Hong Kong’s pro-democracy protesters facing violent repression by mainland China’s authoritarian communist government stare.
It was an expensive tweet for the NBA. Beijing quickly kicked off the league’s matches from the air and from the country’s largest streaming service, a major blow to a league that craves the enormous Chinese audience and its money.
A year later, it appears there is a thaw in the cul-de-sac. The state-owned China Central Television (CCTV) announced on October 9 that it …