The Infront Sports & Media agency, exclusive marketing partner of China’s CBA Professional Basketball League, has confirmed Swiss watch brand Tissot as the new official timekeeper of the CBA League.
Tissot will partner China’s top-tier basketball league for the next five years, in a deal that will culminate in the 2019-20 season. As part of the agreement, Tissot will introduce a shot clock during CBA games and will also develop a special-edition range of watches for the league and its teams.
“We are a global brand that is aiming for a global partnership in the world of basketball,” Francois Thiebaud, Tissot president, said. “CBA is therefore the ideal partner for us. Additionally, China is a key market for Tissot and, as such, it was only natural to partner with the most popular television sport in China.”
The announcement comes after Tissot’s fellow Swiss watchmaker Tag Heuer last week severed its ties with the CBA.
Tag Heuer was last month named the league’s official timekeeper under a two-year deal scheduled to cover the 2015-16 season and the 2016-17 campaign. Though the Swiss company did not outline the reasons for the termination, the China Daily newspaper last week said it had filed a complaint against Infront China to the People’s Court of Beijing Chaoyang District.
In a statement, Tag Heuer claimed that Infront sought to terminate the contract without just cause. China Daily said Infront China cancelled the deal as its parent company, Infront Sports & Media, was already in partnership with Tissot.
Tissot already has existing partnerships with the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) and the NBA basketball league in North America.