Volume Four: Golden State's Golden Age
Chapter 711: You Can Completely Destroy Him
Leonard stopped agonizing over it and nodded solemnly. Dennis finished speaking, stood up, patted Leonard on the shoulder, and left his room, leaving Leonard sitting in his chair with an uncertain expression. But that was only a small part of it. Chinese fans still had relatively little awareness of officially licensed products and had not developed the habit of buying merchandise to support their teams. As the NBA developed rapidly in China, Tencent, the broadcaster, benefited the most. This was already after the Warriors had cracked down hard on ticket scalpers. Like bloodsucking leeches, they were everywhere and impossible to eradicate, always managing to drive tickets for important games up to astronomical prices. Other teams also benefited, and the NBA's promotion across China progressed at an extremely gratifying pace. Viewership soared, and merchandise revenue rose considerably as well. The United States was the NBA's foundation, while China was where the NBA was most popular overseas. These two populous nations contributed two of the league's largest viewing audiences. As the NBA continued expanding within China, Tencent would reap even greater profits. Compared with the $500 million broadcasting fee over five years, it was making a killing. What puzzled Zhao Guochen, the head of Tencent Sports, was that Mark Baum, the NBA vice president responsible for these affairs, seemed rather uninterested. Tencent was determined to secure the NBA broadcasting rights. They were the core of its sports business and could not be allowed to fall into anyone else's hands. Yet Leonard, walking at the back of the team, kept his head lowered. He had fallen behind his teammates, ignored the fans greeting him from both sides, and slowly made his way onto the court. Tencent did not slack off