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- NBA to Reach Fans in 215 Countries and 41 languages-

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2007 – Through new partnerships and key renewals, the 2007-08 NBA season will offer its broadest global television distribution in league history. Overall, NBA games and programming will be seen in 215 countries in 41 languages.

The NBA has a record 202 TV networks this season, 14 of which are airing NBA content for the first-time, including CBC (Canada) and TVB Jade and TVB Pearl (Hong Kong). The NBA has renewed key partnerships in markets including NHK (Japan), which will enter its 20th season as an NBA partner, Five (UK), SKY and SportItalia (Italy), Premiere (Germany), 7TV (Russia) and Beijing TV (China).

There is currently increased fan and media interest in China as the two Chinese NBA players, Milwaukee Bucks rookie Yi Jianlian and Houston Rockets All-Star Yao Ming, will play against each other in an NBA game for the first time tonight. The game will air on 19 television stations in Greater China, including national station CCTV-5, on two Web sites, Sohu.com and NBA.com/china, and Kong will make the game available on a live basis via mobile phones in China. All will take the game live, except for ESPN in Hong Kong.

The NBA is conducting a live viewing party in Beijing for fans, partners and media. Yi and Yao’s second regular season showdown will take place during the Chinese New Year on February 2. In China, the NBA airs on 51 TV stations in Greater China and will look to eclipse one billion viewers for the third consecutive season.

The NBA will follow the success of 2007 NBA Europe Live presented by EA SPORTS by expanding programming in the region. In Europe, the NBA is launching a new program called “NBA 360” that will air in prominent program slots in several European markets and offer highlights and "the best of the NBA" from the past weekend. On November 5, NBA 360 began to air in Germany (Premiere), UK (Five), Italy (Sportitalia), Russia (7TV), Hungary (Sport 1) and Slovenia (Sport Klub).



About the NBA
The NBA, founded in 1946, is a global sports and entertainment brand that features 30 teams in the United States and Canada. During the 2007-08 season, the NBA will distribute games and programming to 215 countries and territories in 41 languages. The league’s worldwide reach can also be seen with 76 international players from 31 countries and territories on NBA rosters. Domestically, the NBA broadcasted 142 games on national television last season on ABC, TNT, ESPN and ESPN2, and eclipsed attendance records for the fourth consecutive season.

NBA TV, launched in 1999 as the first 24-hour television channel created and operated by a professional sports league, is distributed to 80 countries. NBA merchandise is sold in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries on six continents; NBA.com gets more than half of its visitors from outside the United States.

As fans witness tremendous performances on the court, some of the NBA’s most significant efforts occur off the court. NBA Cares is the league's social responsibility initiative that builds on the NBA's long tradition of addressing important social issues in the United States and around the world. During the first year of NBA Cares, teams, current and former players, and the league office contributed 205,000 hours of hands-on volunteer service, raised more than $32 million for charity, and created 109 places where kids and families can live, learn or play. NBA Cares works with internationally-recognized youth-serving programs that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes, including: UNICEF; Reading Is Fundamental; Habitat for Humanity; Boys & Girls Clubs of America; Feed the Children, Special Olympics, KaBoom!, Make-A-Wish Foundation, and many others.