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Posts from the ‘Sports Media’ Category

Nov 23

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The Weibo Adventures Of Stephon Marbury And JR Smith

Two men exchanged pleasantries via Weibo on Wednesday night, one complimenting the other on a job well done. So far, so normal, considering this is China's leading social networking site, with over 25o million registered accounts. Yet the big difference was who was doing it; Stephon Marbury, two-time NBA All-Star, now with the Beijing Ducks, was congratulating J.R. Smith, the former Denver Nugget, on playing his part in Zhejiang Golden Bulls' victory over Guangdong Leopards that night.

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Oct 27

A Seven-Point Plan to Improving the China Basketball Association (Part 1)

Aside from the Euroleague, the only other basketball anyone will possibly be watching this year is from the China Basketball Association as players and owners work feverishly to hammer out a deal to save the NBA season. With the start of the 2011-2012 season approaching there is a lot of anticipation an excitement.

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Dec 24

Lu You, sports journalist with CCTV

Lu You v. Huang Jianxiang: A Libel Case

It’s my third time meeting Lu You this Monday at the gate of Beijing Second Intermediate People’s Court. The result of her second trial against Huang Jianxiang, her former colleague at CCTV, a football commentator, was to be announced that day. As the last two meetings with her, she seemed upbeat and spirited, like on the screen as a sports reporter.

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Aug 7

Kenneth Huang, point man for the potential purchase of Liverpool F.C. by the China Investment Corporation. Image from Shanghaiist.
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Communists Go After Liverpool

It might be too early to call it "normal," but since Chinese investors went after the NBA Cleveland Cavaliers basketball squad in 2009, the latest news that a Chinese investment group is now looking to purchase Liverpool F.C. doesn't seem all that surprising. Except for the little issue over the fact that it is the China Investment Corporation, a state-owned company established in 2007 under the Ministry of Finance using 1.55 trillion RMB. The corporation is charged with managing part of the country's foreign reserves, and is one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds.

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Apr 12

Mikhail Prokhorov, left, is being challenged by a U.S. official over whether one of his companies was funding Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe, right. Photo from the New York Post.

Foreign Investigations into the NBA

A New Jersey congressman is demanding an official inquiry into Mikhail Prokhorov, the Russian billionaire who is about purchase the New Jersey Nets, for his apparent business dealings in Zimbabwe. The move threatens to crumble the $200 million USD deal and whether the team will ultimately be moving to Brookyln.

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Mar 3

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A Youth Soccer Tournament Visible from Outer Space Kicks Off in July

Our friends at China Sports Tour are working on a great project. Before reaching out to the outer space, they're bringing teams from around the planet to compete in a youth football tournament. Please see below their media release.

The first international youth soccer tournament in Beijing reveals details today.

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Feb 28

Football Reporters Should also be Investigated

An article asking the question: Why have China's football beat reporters been left out of the league-wide investigations?

The China Football Association handed out another round of rulings this week, demoting Guangzhou Pharmaceutical and Chengdu Sheffield United from the China Super League after evidence showed the teams had bribed opponents during the 2006 and 2007 seasons. Additionally, Qingdao Hailifeng was disqualified after police said the team's chairman, Du Yunqi gambled during the end of a game, attempting to manipulate the score so Du could win more money. Both Du and the Hailifeng team captain were arrested. Global Times ran an article earlier this week outlining the new rulings.

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Dec 24

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Communist Quietly Comes to Cleveland

A look at the recent discussions concerning Hong Kong businessman Albert Hung, who is now purchasing a stake in the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.

I dug through the news reports from Ohio to China, trudging through the same list of accolades and accomplishments of Albert Hung, one of the wealthiest businessmen in Hong Kong, who is finalizing a deal to buy a 15 percent stake in the Cleveland Cavaliers, which is expected to be completed by the end of the year. Then I waited for the negative backlash.

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Dec 8

If You Build it, They Won’t Come

An op-ed on how despite the rise in sporting venues throughout China, the country's sports stadiums remain empty once the lights fade and the games conclude.

There is no question that large, global sporting events can help change the image of a city. Governments use the spectacles as a means to redevelop or invest further in a city’s infrastructure. South Africa proposed a nine billion rand — or about 1.7 billion USD — budget on city infrastructure projects for next year’s World Cup. According to the Beijing Organizing Committee, the 2008 Olympic Games saw about 60 billion USD invested in city-wide infrastructure projects, which included new stadium venues for the sporting events.

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Oct 23

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Broadcasting Monday Night Football to Chinese Audience

To most of Chinese I know, American football is difficult and distant. At Shanghai Scrap, Adam Minter interviews Zhang Nan, Monday Night Football’s play-by-play man in China, who tries his best to engage more Chinese into the sport.

Sure, the NFL has a small audience in China (roughly 20,000 viewers watch the weekly simulcast), but Zhang – as the play-by-play man – has a key role in helping the NFL expand it. And in doing so, it’s partly his responsibility to figure out a way to translate this most American of sports to a Chinese audience that has almost no knowledge or experience with it. The challenge is technical, cultural, and linguistic, and on Wednesday afternoon I spoke to Zhang (to the right of his broadcast partner, Guo Aibing, in the photo below) about how he handles the responsibilities.

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