MUMBAI: Infront Sports & Media and the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) have reached an agreement to extend their current partnership by a further five years.

As the exclusive commercial partner for the CBA League worldwide, Infront‘s role is in-depth and involves every aspect - from commercially developing the CBA League to global sponsorship sales.

In addition, Infront handles the media rights for all league games, with the aim of further raising national and international awareness of Chinese basketball.

The new agreement between the CBA and the international sports marketing company is an extension of the previous seven year contract, which was originally granted in 2005. The partnership, which covers all commercial rights of the CBA League, has proven to be the catalyst to realising the full potential of the vibrant league.

Between 2005/06 and 2011/12, the total number of league sponsors has tripled - from nine to 27.

This development went along with a growing demand by international sponsors keen to access the growth market of China. Major global brands secured by Infront include: Nike, UPS, Tissot and Konica Minolta.

According to the company, each sponsor benefits from the unique activation opportunities with many also making use of the synergy offered by Infront‘s simultaneous relationship with Team China Basketball - a partnership that was also extended by a further eight year commitment in 2011.

In addition, an international breakthrough for the platform was reached in 2011, when Infront signed a broadcasting agreement with One World Sport to deliver the CBA regular games to North America for the first time.

In the new five year term, Infront will - together with the CBA - continue to develop the professional media and marketing concept of the League to correspond with the up to date market needs. Television production quality and distribution will be further optimised, whilst there will also be a constant focus on enhancing the digital media platform.

CBA VP Xin Lancheng said, "Over the past seven years, the CBA League has made significant progress across the board - in terms of the sportive performance, the commercial value and the social impact. Infront has been a key partner in this process and shares the association‘s vision regarding the long-term development of the league. We are looking forward to partnering with Infront for the next five years and to further enhancing the league‘s profile as well as repaying the fans, society and commercial partners for their consistent support."

Infront‘s President & CEO Philippe Blatter said, "We are proud of the extension to our successful partnership with the CBA for both, Team China and now also the CBA League. China is a key market for sport and the Infront Group will, in partnership with the CBA, continue to develop and deliver superior value to its key properties for the ultimate benefit of the sport, the clubs, the players, the partners and the fans. With our international expertise and local know-how, we will also continue to pave the way for strong national and international partners to take advantage of an association with China‘s top sport."