US-based sports organization has gone from one success to another in China, surprising industry observers, as Shen Jingting reports

It was a harsh winter in 1987 when David Stern, the commissioner of the United States-based National Basketball Association, flew to Beijing to ask State broadcaster China Central Television to air video clips of basketball games.

Stern promised to offer content for free, as long as CCTV agreed to open a window to the many Chinese viewers who hadn't previously enjoyed watching professional basketball competitions.