China-based Tencent, which has exclusive rights to NBA streaming in China, "quietly resumed airing two league games" yesterday after the company "hit back against the league last week" following Rockets GM Daryl Morey's Hong Kong tweet, according to CNBC's Carl Quintanilla ("Squawk Alley," CNBC, 10/14). When asked about the resumed streaming, a Tencent spokesperson "reiterated the company's statement from last week, which said it would suspend broadcasts for the 'China games.'" CNN.com's He & Yong note Tencent's decision to "resume live broadcasts was a trending topic on Chinese social media platform Weibo" yesterday, with many users "accusing the company of using a loophole to continue its relationship with the NBA despite the backlash." Tencent's stance "highlights the importance of the NBA to China and Chinese businesses." The league is "hugely popular in China, with nearly 500 million people watching NBA programming last season on Tencent alone." Chinese state TV CCTV last week said that it would "immediately review all its cooperation with NBA." The network "has not publicly commented on the controversy since then" (CNN.com, 10/14). BLOOMBERG NEWS' Hong, Chen & Gao note according to the Tencent Sports' app, "other preseason games will only be streamed in text and images." Video-streaming is "scheduled to return Oct. 23 as the regular season starts" (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 10/14).
TREADING CAREFULLY: VARIETY's Davis, Frater & Littleton note Disney, as the "studio with the largest operations by far in China," is "particularly vulnerable to getting caught up in the fray" caused by Morey's tweet. Disney-owned ESPN has "come under fire for reports that the sports powerhouse told its on-air personalities not to discuss the China situation." However, a source "countered that the network instructed hosts to avoid 'purely political' conversations about the NBA flap." In fact, ESPN "carried multiple news reports of the NBA backlash in China last week" (VARIETY.com, 10/15).
