By Mike Stobe/The Washington Post NBA fans in China have been clamoring for NBA news since last year, and it looks like there’s a big problem with the NBA fans there.
According to an article by the Financial Times, a Chinese website called the Internet Information Bureau recently began reporting on a surge in phone calls from NBA fans.
The site, which is known as XINQ, reported that the average number of calls from China grew from 9 to 21 calls per day in the first quarter of this year, up from about one a day in 2017.
That trend continues, with the average call from a Chinese NBA fan increasing from 1 to 6 a day over the same period.XINQ reported that “the number of users reporting in the top 100 countries by the number of people calling their mobile phone has increased from 50,000 in July 2017 to over 100,000 by mid-July.”
The site also reported that China had more than 20 million smartphone users at the end of last year.
In response to the influx of NBA fans, the NBA and NBA China are taking steps to boost its reach and improve its overall ratings.
In an effort to address this issue, the league announced a $100 million investment in the League’s online marketing.