Japanese Tech Company Rakuten, NBA Announce Partnership For Reported $225M

The NBA and Japanese e-commerce and internet company Rakuten announced a new partnership, making Rakuten the "official broadcasting distributor of NBA games in Japan," according to Kaz Nagatsuka of the JAPAN TIMES. The length of the contract and financial figures of the deal "were not disclosed." With its exclusive domestic broadcasting deal in Japan, Rakuten will "provide fans live coverage of games on its video-on-demand service (Rakuten TV), and NBA League Pass." Rakuten TV will "provide nine games per week through its subscription package." TV networks like NHK and WOWOW have "aired NBA games in Japan for a few decades." Rakuten is "negotiating with those entities to sublicense its broadcasting rights." The global partnership also enables Rakuten to "operate its own NBA online stores to sell select NBA merchandise, domestically and globally." Rakuten Viber, the company’s instant messaging platform, will become an "official platform for the league and its 30 clubs, providing league and team content to its more than 900 million users" worldwide. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said that the partnership could also "help bring NBA games back to Japan." Silver added that the league is "in the process of planning" to have an NBA game in Japan. He understands the impact of bringing NBA games back to Japan and playing games on Japanese soil is a "true priority" for the league and Rakuten (JAPAN TIMES, 10/10). USA TODAY's Sam Amick reported a source said that the NBA will be paid more than $225M "during the life of the contract." For Rakuten -- which "cut a jersey patch deal" with the Golden State Warriors in September that cost a reported $20M annually -- this marks the first deal it has done with a North American sports league (USA TODAY, 10/10).