Tencent to be exclusive digital partner of NBA

The National Basketball Association expanded its agreement with Internet company Tencent Holdings Ltd to increase the league's presence in the world's most populous country.

The deal is valued at about $700 million, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The five-year agreement, which takes effect on July 1, creates the largest international digital partnership for the NBA, the first United States sports league to open a business office in China and the first to play in the nation.

The extension also makes Tencent, which market research firm Millward Brown called the "most valuable Chinese brand" the exclusive digital partner of the NBA in the country of 1.35 billion people. That gives Tencent popular programming that will draw advertisements and boost revenue, said Ashley Sheng, a Shanghai-based analyst at SWS Research Co.