Pick Westbrook

Chapter 94 I Have No Money
Since David Stern came to power, he has developed the NBA's global strategic layout, but at that time it was difficult for the NBA to enter the international market.

In addition to local policies and local restrictions, the lack of understanding of the NBA in these places is the main reason for this.

In order to solve this problem, Stern has personally traveled to various countries with video tapes, among which China is what he cares most about.

That year, 1989, was winter.

Stern stood alone under the CCTV building for 4 hours. It took a long time for him to be interviewed by relevant people, and at the same time, he presented the game between the Bulls and Jordan in his hand.

It was also after that year that the NBA signed a broadcast agreement with CCTV, mainly broadcasting the All-Star Game, Finals and some key games.

It's just that in terms of broadcasting fees, Stern almost lost money and yelled half-sell and half-free, making no money at all.

It wasn't until Wang Zhizhi entered the NBA as No.1 in Asia and Yao Ming joined Houston as the No. 1000 pick that Stern signed a contract with CCTV again, but the contract amount was only a very small [-] million soft sister coins.

Compared with the hundreds of millions of dollars in broadcasting fees of TNT and ESPN, this is simply insignificant.

Therefore, taking advantage of the current spring breeze of Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian, Stern believes that it is time for the NBA to make profits in the Chinese market.

"In other words, Stern is going to increase the amount of the broadcast contract?" Li Lai said bluntly.

If he remembers correctly, the original NBA should have greatly increased the broadcast fee a few years later. At that time, the Penguin's 5-year $15 billion stunned the crowd.

Li Lai did not expect that because of himself and Yi Jianlian, the NBA would reap the commercial layout in advance.

Xiao Hua nodded and admitted this.

After all, the cost of CCTV broadcasting the five major football leagues has far surpassed that of the NBA, especially in the year when Sun Jihai was promoted from the British Championship to the Premier League with Manchester City. unimaginable.

However, the ratings of the NBA in China are higher than any of the five major leagues!

In particular, the finals between the Lakers and Celtics last season has set a new NBA record for watching games in China.

"So Mr. Stern hopes that our new broadcast fee can at least triple." Xiao Hua said seriously.

Li Lai shook his head directly in denial.

Xiao Hua frowned and said: "Increasing the broadcast fee is good for both the Bucks and you."

Of course Li Lai knew this.

However, it is impossible for him to support the NBA's wanton acquisition of property in China because of emotion and reason. After all, his soul is Chinese.

Moreover, the Penguins spent 15 billion US dollars to buy the copyright of the NBA, and the final result is vivid in Li Lai's memory.

Watching the NBA has always been free, but he actually has to spend money!

Not only money but also volume!
Adding up the layers, this is a lot of expenses.

Especially for those passionate fans who are still students, such a fee can only prevent them from watching the game, and finally they can only play the full-court highlights in a loop after the game.

Therefore, the direct result of this is that a large number of loyal fans no longer watch the NBA, or they will feel more and more that the NBA has no previous taste.

The root cause is that the NBA's broadcast fees have increased!

"So the broadcast fee has to be reduced, or it's better to continue at the original amount.

Because increasing broadcast fees can only increase short-term economic benefits, it is not a good thing in the long run. "Li Lai said sincerely.

Xiao Hua frowned, puzzled and said: "Tell me your reason?"

Li Lai gave Xiao Hua three sentences, "If children are playing games now, will anyone watch the NBA in 10 years?"

"Even if adults today are willing to bear the additional costs brought about by the increase in broadcasting fees, will they still be willing to continue to bear this cost when their idols are getting old?"

"The most important thing is that you can't make someone who has never been interested in the NBA spend money to watch your games, and you can't make someone who has never watched an NBA game and doesn't have an idol like the NBA!"

This is an infinite loop.

If you want to charge, you have to have fans, and if you want to have fans, you have to show them the game, but watching the game costs money.

The extremely clever Xiao Hua quickly understood the meaning of Li Lai's words.

If the NBA chooses to increase the broadcast fee, it will only increase the burden on fans to watch the game, and indirectly, it will cause the NBA to lose its fans, and its future benefits will also be greatly reduced.

Xiao Hua sighed and said: "Originally, I came to you to tell you to step up cooperation with the Chinese market, because we are also worried that we will lose a wave of fans after raising the broadcast fee, so I hope that the Bucks and Rockets can firmly seize the Chinese market."

"But from what you said, it seems that Mr. Stern and I both think about the problem simply."

"But even if you're right, the NBA is a commercial league after all, we can't do nothing, we have to make money!"

Li Lai was silent for a while.

If the NBA wants to make money, and if they want to make more money, they have to increase broadcast fees. After all, this is their biggest benefit.

He suddenly asked: "What should Chinese fans do if they want to buy a Bucks jersey?"

Xiao Hua was startled, this question really stumped him.

He thought for a long time before saying, "I'm afraid there is some trouble."

Li Lai nodded, it must be very troublesome.

He still remembers the year when Kobe defeated the Celtics to win the championship. At that time, the entire Chinese fan circle was almost crazy, and all fans hoped to buy the same jersey that Kobe played in the playoffs.

As a result, these fans tried all kinds of methods and found various channels, but in the end what they bought was just a fake.

Because at that time, only Beijing Beijing opened two officially authorized franchise stores of the NBA, so it was difficult to buy authentic products even in big cities such as Shanghai, Nanjing, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen.

Especially those fans who thought they had bought authentic jerseys after spending tens or one hundred yuan at that time, they didn't even know that the price of Kobe's jerseys in the United States was 54.99 US dollars.

In China, if fans want to buy a genuine jersey in a serious way, it should be postponed until after 2015.

"So, why can't the NBA cooperate with CCTV and become the designated agency for authentic jerseys?"

"Think about the huge fan base in China. Even if only one tenth of the fans are willing to buy jerseys, the profits here are beyond your imagination."

"What's more, the NBA can sell more than jerseys, sneakers, wrists, knee pads, headbands, and posters."

When Li Lai was narrating his thoughts, Xiao Hua listened with radiance, his eyes were full of excitement, and finally he even patted his bald head and said excitedly.

"The average price of NBA jerseys is 40 US dollars, and the profit of a jersey is close to 30 US dollars. Excluding the cost of sales of various links of 10 US dollars, that is, the net profit is 20 US dollars. Our audience in China has reached 5.58 million throughout the season. Based on the base of 1000 million fans, 100 million fans will buy our clothes, which is a full 2000 million profit, and this is just the jersey!"

"Adding in sneakers, wrists, knee pads, headbands, and posters, it is conservatively estimated that our profit can reach 6000 million US dollars, which is 12 times higher than the triple broadcast fee!"

"Your boy is a fucking genius!"

Li Lai was stunned by Xiao Hua's arithmetic ability, how much money he could earn in just a few seconds?

"You're a fucking genius."

Of course, Li Lai's suggestion to Xiao Hua is indeed somewhat selfish.

Except because he is a Chinese and doesn't like being suppressed by capitalism. Li Lai sighed.

Another reason is that in the previous life, the fan who tried all kinds of methods and found all kinds of channels, but finally bought a fake is him!
He still remembers the embarrassing scene of the jersey that was bought as a treasure at that time, and the color faded severely when it touched water.

So for the fans who love the NBA as much as he does, he hopes to make it happen.

Xiao Hua suddenly looked at Li Lai and said seriously: "I think your suggestion is feasible, Li Lai, you have helped me a lot.

If this plan is really feasible, it may even establish the possibility of me becoming the next president of the league. "

Speaking of this, Xiao Hua suddenly paused, because he found that he had revealed too much because of being too excited, and said instead: "I will remember your help to me."

Li Lai nodded and said: "If this plan is really successful, I hope you can sell the jerseys at the original price in China, and don't raise the price extra. This is my only request."

Xiao Hua was very puzzled by this suggestion, because more profits would only make Li Lai, who is the team owner, more money, but at this time he was too lazy to think about the reasons behind it, promised.

"I try my best."

Xiao Hua, who had to go to Houston after meeting Li Lai, directly interrupted his itinerary. He booked a plane ticket and rushed back to the league headquarters without stopping to have an interview with Stern.

This matter is very important to him!

Li Lai, who was saying goodbye to Xiao Hua, suddenly remembered something that had troubled him for a long time. He blushed and said, "Adam, I want to pay the league in advance for this season's broadcast and jersey sales."

Xiao Hua was stunned and said: "NBA has never had such a precedent, this money has always been released after the end of the season."

Li Lai said in embarrassment: "Of course I know this practice, but I have no money."

Ok? !

An owner who is in charge of an NBA team would actually say three words: no money?And he said it so eloquently.

How poor is this!

But Xiao Hua quickly remembered some rumors about the Bucks at the beginning of the season, as if they couldn't even afford an assistant coach.

At this time Li Lai directly told the current situation of the Bucks truthfully, Xiao Hua's eyes widened as he listened to the side, and finally said something very speechless and quietly.

"You are so poor that you still need to run the team. You are not a talent, you are a weirdo!"

When Xiao Hua left, he didn't promise to help Li Lai distribute the funds in advance, but based on Li Lai's feelings when he was in contact with him, the sentence I will remember your help to me should be very important.

So in his opinion, Xiao Hua must help solve this matter.

At this time, Li Lai stopped being distracted and continued to pay attention to this matter, because the Bucks were about to usher in their next game, an away game against the Raptors.

　Brothers, that's it for tonight, I wish you all a happy National Day.

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(End of this chapter)