Chinese state TV says it will resume airing NBA games a year after halting its broadcasts due to a spat with the league over freedom of speech

Chinese state broadcaster will resume airing NBA games from tomorrow after banning the popular basketball league for almost a year due to a diplomatic spat over freedom of speech.

The China Central Television Station announced today that its sports channel would live-broadcast the fifth game between the Los Angeles Lakers and Miami Heat in this year's final on Saturday morning.

The broadcaster stopped showing NBA games last October after an executive from the Houston Rockets tweeted his support for anti-government protesters in Hong Kong - a move that infuriated Beijing.

China Central Television will live-broadcast the fifth game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Miami Heat in this year's final on Saturday morning, the station announced on Friday

The state-run outlet stopped airing NBA games last October after an executive from the Houston Rockets tweeted his support for the anti-government protesters in Hong Kong

A CCTV spokesperson called the decision 'a normal broadcasting arrangement', adding that NBA games have a 'wide public foundation' and 'high viewing demand from fans' in China.

The spokesperson said the station had taken note of the goodwill expressed by the NBA for some time, especially the league's support in helping China tackle its coronavirus outbreak.

'Since the beginning of this year, the NBA has made active efforts to support the Chinese people in their fight against COVID-19,' the spokesperson said, adding that basketball in China has a wide range of fans. 

CCTV holds exclusive TV rights in China for the NBA, while tech giant Tencent Holdings has exclusive internet streaming rights in the country.

The news of the return of the games was delivered to the public by an anchor during news show 'Sports World' on Friday night as well as through CCTV Sport's official social media account.

It has stirred up a mixture of feelings among the Chinese people. On Weibo, the Chinese equivalent to Twitter, the topic 'CCTV re-broadcasts the NBA' amassed nearly 100million views within hours. 

The news was delivered to the Chinese public by an anchor of a news show on Friday

The news has stirred up a mixture of feelings among the Chinese people. While some welcomed the decision, others wondered about the reason behind the games' sudden return

While some NBA fans welcomed the decision, others wondered why CCTV decided to show the last game of the season all of a sudden.

One such Weibo commenter said: 'To be honest, I cannot understand. You have not broadcast (the NBA) for a year. I would be able to understand if you resume the broadcasts next year. I cannot understand why re-start now suddenly.'

Some people voiced confusion over the direction given by the authority. One person wrote: 'It was you who asked us to boycott (the NBA), but you again who will resume broadcasting.'

There were also people joking that CCTV producers must be fans of the Lakers and therefore wanted to watch them win.

The Lakers are leading the Heat by 3-1 in the best-of-seven NBA final.

Tensions erupted between China and the NBA last October after the general manager of Houston Rockets, Daryl Morey, showed his support for pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong - and then the boss of the NBA promised to protect his employees' right to free speech.

'I did not intend my tweet to cause any offence to Rockets fans and friends of mine in China,' Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted as he apologised to Beijing

Morey's initial tweet included an image captioned: 'Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong'

CCTV immediately announced that it would not broadcast NBA preseason games as protest. 

Tencent also stopped airing the league's exhibition games to express its dissatisfaction towards the NBA.

But Chinese fans were surprised to discover the online broadcaster showed two preseason games live - without formally announcing the resumption of the service.

Anti-NBA sentiment exploded in China after Morey tweeted an image captioned 'Fight for Freedom; Stand with Hong Kong'.

His tweet caused an instant outrage across the Pacific because China viewed the pro-democracy unrest as a 'separatist movement' masterminded by 'Western forces'.

It took place before the Los Angeles Lakers and Brooklyn Nets were scheduled to play two exhibition games in China.

Morey deleted his tweet and apologised to 'Rockets fans and friends of mine in China'.

In a statement, the NBA called Morey's post 'regrettable'.

LeBron James, arguably one of the biggest voice in the NBA, said the general manager of Houston Rockets 'wasn't educated' on Hong Kong and should have kept his mouth shut

Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, backed the NBA executive's tweet and promised to protect his employees' right to free speech - remarks that further angered Beijing

Rockets guard James Harden almost immediately apologised to China even though he had not publicly expressed any views previously on the matter.

But Adam Silver, the commissioner of the NBA, backed Morey's initial tweet and promised to protect his employees' right to free speech - remarks that further angered Beijing.

As a result, NBA preseason games were banned by broadcasters, Chinese companies pulled their sponsorship from the NBA and Rockets' merchandise was removed from shops nationwide.