QQ Music platform to offer official NBA podcasts.
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- Amateur podcasters given opportunity to create NBA content
- NBA fans to get special QQ Music subscription offering
The National Basketball Association (NBA) has struck a new content partnership with Chinese music streaming services company Tencent Music Entertainment (TME).
The new agreement will see TME’s QQ Music platform carry a series of official NBA podcasts, in addition to putting on a podcast creation competition for amateur podcasters. There will also be a special subscription for NBA fans which will include the chance to win tickets, as well as other offerings.
Musicians are also expected to collaborate with the NBA and TME to help promote league events.
QQ Music, which is a freemium music streaming service, is a joint venture between TME and audio streaming giant Spotify. The Swedish firm has a stake in TME alongside majority owner Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent. QQ is one of the most popular streaming apps in China alongside KuGou and Kuwo.
The deal continues the NBA’s lucrative sponsorship operation. In June, a study from IEG found that the league and its 30 teams generated a record US$1.46 billion in sponsorship revenue during the 2020/21 season. This represented a six per cent increase compared to 2019/20.
IEG added that that league-level partnerships were the main driver of the revenue increase, with the NBA signing 13 new deals. It added that league-level sponsorship spend has increased by nearly 50 per cent since the 2017/18 campaign.
