All-Star Weekend spreads its wings abroad

NBA All-Star 2013 will feature unprecedented global coverage, reaching fans live in 215 countries and regions in 47 languages on televisions, computers, mobile devices and tablets.

More than 312 international media members from 46 countries and regions have converged in Houston to cover the event, including 77 media members from China.

In China, the NBA's largest international market, NBA All-Star 2013 will be televised live on CCTV5, regionally through a network of partners, and streamed live or on demand on Sina, Tencent and NBA.com/China. CCTV will also capture All-Star footage for a new weekly two-hour show titled NBA Prime Time that will debut on Feb 21.

The league's 53 million social media followers in China will interact in real time and cast votes for the Sprite Slam Dunk champion and All-Star Game Most Valuable Player.

The convergence of television, digital and social media will make this the most interactive All-Star event. More than 386 million fans globally will follow the NBA on social media and for the first time the world-feed broadcasts will feature real-time tweets from celebrities, NBA players and fans from all over the world at #NBAAllStar.

NBA All-Star 2013 will have unprecedented reach in the league's new markets. For the first time, Sony SIX and CNN India will be onsite gathering footage and conducting interviews to give fans in India an all-access look. Al Jazeera Sports will provide live coverage throughout the Middle East; SABC will provide national free-to-air coverage in South Africa and ESPN and Space will carry the action live in Brazil.

The first NBA Digital Village at NBA All-Star Jam Session will feature a sampling of international commentary from the 2012 All-Star Game. Fans will be able to watch an edited version of the game featuring commentary in Turkish, Mandarin, French, Spanish, Japanese and Arabic.

The NBA has 15 international NBA.com sites offering customized content in countries such as China, Italy, Turkey, the Philippines, Brazil, Africa and India. The league also has 13 international Facebook pages.

(China Daily 02/17/2013 page8)