Marketplace Roundup

The WALL STREET JOURNAL’s Loretta Chao noted China’s “self-promotional ad announced earlier this week has finally been unveiled” on six screens in Times Square. One part of the ad titled “Thrilling Chinese Athletics” includes a photo of Rockets C Yao Ming and “other athletes standing in front of the Birds Nest national stadium in Beijing.” The ad was launched as China President Hu Jintao “makes his way to Washington for a summit” with President Barack Obama. The ad will run in Times Square “300 times a day for a grand total of 8,400 plays between now and Valentine’s Day” (WSJ.com, 1/18).

BAD BET: In Jacksonville, David Bauerlein reports Jaguars QB David Garrard and the NFL are suing a local casino cruise business “whose online site shows an action photo of Garrard in an NFL game.” Garrard, the NFL, the Jaguars and NFL Properties on Jan. 12 filed a lawsuit against Jacks or Better Casino, claiming that “no one gave Jacks or Better permission to put the photo on the website.” The suit “seeks an order barring the use of Garrard’s photo and NFL trademarks" (FLORIDA TIMES-UNION, 1/19).

GAME ON: 2K Sports has become the official sponsor of ESPN’s live NBA coverage in the U.K. and Ireland this season. The partnership will feature “NBA 2K11” around ESPN’s telecasts. Financial terms of the partnership were not disclosed. 2K Sports will also be the sponsor of “NBA Action” on ESPN, which gives fans an inside look at game day preparation for the league’s athletes and includes the top plays and highlights from the week (2K Sports).

FINISHING TOUCHES: The release of “NASCAR 2011: The Game” has been pushed back to March 29 instead of February. Game developer Eutechnyx on its website wrote, “The main reason is we simply wanted more time to polish it and hopefully make it the experience you guys are craving. ... Sometimes more time is needed to get that fantastic end product we want to ship” (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 1/18).

AND THE AWARD GOES TO… The NBA announced the recipients of the ’10 NBA Retail Summit Awards, naming the Jazz the ’09-10 Team Retailer of the Year and Majestic Athletic and Wincraft the inaugural Apparel and Non-Apparel Licensee of the Year, respectively, as voted on by all 30 NBA team retailers (NBA).