Can Half a Billion
Chinese Be Wrong?
The NBA Hopes Not

As the Chinese national team recovered from three straight losses to squeak into the second round of the World Basketball Championships in Japan this week, U.S. basketball officials might be forgiven for having a certain rooting interest in Yao Ming and his teammates against the likes of Senegal and Slovenia.

The reason has to do with a couple of nice, round numbers: 500 million Chinese fans who bought 400 million "branded pieces" of National Basketball Association products, from jerseys to basketballs, last year.

As in many businesses, the most populous country in the world is already an important NBA market and a tantalizing area for growth. In addition to 25 merchandise partners, the league counts 15 marketing partners there, from the American (Coca-Cola and McDonald's) to the European (Nokia) to the Chinese (China Mobile). When NBA Commissioner David Stern visited China recently -- he's been there three times in the past two years -- he even met with a company that produces Inner Mongolian milk about possibly sponsoring the league.

"We have been on the air since 1987 but never done anything this big. This raised the bar, made us sort of real to the Chinese fans and kind of set the standard for sports events in China," said Mr. Fischer. More exhibitions are planned for 2007.

Team USA also drew notice with exhibitions in China last month. The 12,000-seat Guangzhou arena nearly sold out despite ticket prices of between $50 and $450, which are steep for China. The games also aired on national television.

Still, marketers are hedging their bets on basketball. Anheuser's Mr. Ponturo says his company has purchased ad signage in Chinese characters at Manchester United's Old Trafford Stadium to try to reach soccer fans tuning in for English Premier league telecasts back in China.

* 全文引自今日《华尔街日报》。

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