Entertainment programs, including the NBA playoffs, were suspended from China television during a three-day mourning period last week for victims of the 7.9 earthquake that devastated China on May 12.

Following the three-day grieving period, the national broadcaster CCTV aired Game 1 of the Western Conference finals between the Los Angeles Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. However, no NBA playoff games have been televised since. As reported by the AP:

“We have followed orders and stopped the NBA broadcast,” Jiang Heping, director for CCTV’s sport channel, said in Wednesday editions of the Shanghai-based Oriental Sports Daily. “Since the May 12 earthquake, we’re careful about the way we broadcast the NBA and the content must match the whole atmosphere.”

However, CCTV’s sports channel has continued to air other sports programming such as “women’s soccer and highlights of track, women’s basketball and French Open tennis.”

“We are working closely with CCTV to ensure that NBA games and content are appropriate for China and to begin broadcasting as soon as possible,” said Tim Chen, China’s NBA chief executive.

The NBA’s senior vice president of marketing communication Michael Bass added that the league doesn’t suspect that the games were pulled due to political reasons.

“Our programming has been pre-empted in consideration of the tenor in China following the Sichuan earthquake,” Bass said.

Jiang is hopeful that the CCTV sports channel will begin airing the NBA playoffs again in time for the Finals, which are expect to start June 5.

The NBA is wildly popular in China, although Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian’s absence from the conference finals has caused a drop in interest. However, three players who are still playing (Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan) ranked in the top ten among jersey sales in China last season.

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Nick Kappel is a staff member for the Business of Sports Network, which includes The Biz of Baseball, The Biz of Football, The Biz of Basketball and The Biz of Hockey.

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