Article "U.S. Sports organizations looking to score in China" from The Daily Yomiuri:
It is no secret that companies across the globe see China as a potential gold mine. As the world's most populous country continues its rapid economic growth, firms from all over the world have been investing billions of dollars there. As the Chinese economy develops, the sports market is growing and U.S. professional sports leagues are looking to tap into this enticing market.
"All the information and research we have suggest that there are huge opportunities for almost all sports because sports is relatively underdeveloped there," said Mark Waller, senior vice president of the National Football League International.
The NFL is hosting the first preseason U.S. football game in China on Aug. 9, and Waller sees that as a big platform to raise awareness of the game. He sees China as an "incredibly exciting" market, not only for the NFL, but also for other sports leagues.
The most intriguing number about the Chinese sports industry, however, maybe the country's population. China's population will be 1.36 billion by 2010 and is expected to increase by 200 million over the next 30 years. The current population of China is more than quadruple that of the United States....
As a result, the NBA is the most popular sports league in China, and today 300 million people in China play basketball. In fact, the NBA is celebrating its 20th year of broadcasting games in China. Fifty-one TV stations in China are telecasting NBA games now with an average of 558,100 viewers per broadcast. In addition, NBA.com/China has 12 million page views on average per day and had 8 million unique page visitors per month last season.
Heidi Ueberroth, president of NBA International Business Operations, said China was "by far the largest market for the NBA outside of the United States." For the next several years, Ueberroth projects at least a 30 percent annual growth rate for the NBA in China, whose overall sports market is estimated to be a multibillion dollar industry. "We are very encouraged because we think it's just the beginning," Ueberroth said.....
Also check out further discussion at China Lab Blog
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