Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week, and my From the Top interview is with Li Shuangfu, President of Chinese sport business media Lanxiong Sports, where we talk about the current sports digital broadcast landscape in China. Alibaba & Suning to Team Up Chinese conglomerates Alibaba and Suning are reportedly looking to expand their relationship by establishing a joint venture dedicated to the sports industry. The deal is yet to be

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Dicos Delivers NBA Partnership The NBA (National Basketball Association) announced a deal with fast-food chain Dicos, making the Taiwan-based brand a marketing partner of NBA China. Dicos plan to engage fans with NBA-themed meals and family activities across its 2,500 outlets in China. They will also stage interactive fan events at this year’s NBA China Games, taking place on October 10 and 1

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: MORE Sports Lands in China Sports lifestyle media platform, MORE Sports, has officially entered the Chinese market with a grand launch event featuring basketball star Kevin Garnett and many local celebrities. MORE Sports is tailored for Chinese sports fans and the app showcases lifestyle and behind-the-scenes stories of popular NBA and CBA stars, ranging from cooking to fashion, music and mor

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: NBA and Alibaba Extend China Partnership The National Basketball Association (NBA) China and Alibaba Group have announced an expansion of their partnership to deliver NBA content on Alibaba’s platforms for the first time. This will also include an enhanced online shopping experience for consumers in China. The launch of an “NBA Section” across Alibaba’s platforms will leverage Alibaba’s techn

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Nike Sponsors Tencent’s LPL US sports apparel giant Nike has officially signed a 4-year sponsorship deal with Tencent for its League of Legends Pro League (LPL), becoming one of the lead partners of the top esports league. Nike will reportedly pay around $7.5 million a year for the apparel rights to all 16 LPL clubs. Read more on Lanxiong Sports (Chinese) and SportsPro (English) Mailman Take:

Welcome to the Red Card 2019 report, now in its 8th year of publication. The report identifies the number one European Football Club, League and Player online in China according to 8 metrics. The Red Card also includes the ‘China Digital Football Awards’ voted for by a panel of independent judges. The last 12 months have seen consistent growth in the football industry. Sports IPs no longer simply target brand awareness online, the challenge has been to balance this with digit

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Shunxin Sponsors Beijing 2022 Beijing 2022 has announced a new Official Sponsor, Beijing Shunxin Agriculture Co., Ltd, which produces Chinese baijiu, meat and other agricultural food products. As a sponsor of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games, Shunxin will provide a wide variety of food products for the Games. Read more on Tencent (Chinese) and Beijing2022 (English) Alispor

Here are the Top 10 China sports business stories of 2018: Mengniu Group Named FIFA World Cup Official Sponsor Chinese dairy company Mengniu Group became an official sponsor of the 2018 Russia World Cup. The deal included 4 categories of Mengniu’s products as their branding appeared on all key promotional platforms. It is the first time for a dairy brand to sponsor the World Cup. Read more on Bloomberg (English) and Lanxiong (Chinese) Winter Olympic Games Teamed Up with Sina

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: FIBA Signs Global Partnership with Ganten FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, has announced a global partnership with Ganten, Asia’s leading mineral water supplier. The partnership will help Shenzhen-based Ganten build its brand as it expands into new markets worldwide and strengthens links between FIBA and China’s business sector ahead of next year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup in C

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Alibaba Finances Suning Sports Alibaba has made a significant investment in Suning Sports as part of Suning Sports’ A-round financing. Total investment is rumoured to be close to $600 million, valuing the company at over RMB 10 billion. Alibaba-owned Youku will launch its new Youku Sports channel in collaboration with Suning-owned PP Sports, as they aim to deliver a comprehensive digital spor

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: iQiyi Becomes Home of Golf in China Chinese OTT platform iQiyi has secured coverage to all four of men’s golf’s major tournaments after picking up rights to the US Open in China, adding to its rights to stream The Masters, The Open and PGA Championship. Read more on Sohu (Chinese) and SportsPro (English) Mailman Take: Compared to Tencent Sports and PPTV Sports, who are competing for the very

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: DDMC and Fortis Land AFC Deal The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has signed an 8-year agreement with DDMC Sports International Ltd and Fortis Sports AG. The deal includes AFC’s commercial and broadcast rights for the period 2021-2028. Read more on DDMC Official Website (Chinese) and AFC Official Website (English) Mailman Take: DDMC, the owner of Desports, has been expanding rapidly over t

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Thierry Henry Named as Vatti Ambassador As an official sponsor of the French national team, Chinese kitchen appliance manufacturer Vatti has also signed Henry as brand ambassador. Announcing the partnership, Henry took part in a live stream on Weibo during which he showed off his Chinese culinary skills. Read more on Sohu (Chinese) Mailman Take: Working with Henry helps Vatti tie in French cu

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Nike Extends CFA Deal The Chinese Football Association (CFA) has renewed its partnership with Nike. The deal will run for ten years at a total value of $473 million. Nike will continue to provide kits for all 16 Chinese Super League (CSL) teams. Read more on Sina (Chinese) and SportsPro (English) Mailman Take: The $473 million contract represents a good deal for Nike. Under the contract, $346

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: FIFA Expands in China with New Official Microsite and WeChat Account This week, FIFA launched its official FIFA WeChat account and a microsite in Mandarin, FIFAofficial.cn, as well as launching a special online campaign, FIFA World Cup Wish. The aim of these activations is for FIFA to deepen its online connection with Chinese fans and develop new ways of engaging with them. Read more on the F

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Trophée des Champions Lands in China After their recent agreement with CCTV, the French Football League (LFP) has now reached a six-year deal with Kaisa Culture Sports and Tourism Group to stage the Trophée des Champions in Shenzhen. Read more on WeChat (Chinese) and SportsPro (English) Formula One to Open Office in China As part of their long term growth strategy and localisation within Chin

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: CCTV Confirms Broadcasting Deal with the LFP China Central Television (CCTV) has officially obtained the broadcasting rights in China for Ligue 1. Starting from the remainder of the 2017/18 season until 2020/21, the deal was finalised by the French Professional Football League (LFP), along with beIN SPORTS. Read more on XinhuaNet (English) and WeChat (Chinese) UnionPay Sponsors International

China is ice hockey’s next big market, or so hopes the NHL. This week, the first official NHL games to be played in China will be held in Shanghai and then Beijing, the NHL is making its big push into the market. A major focus for the league must be engaging and winning over China’s rapidly growing middle-class, particularly its younger demographics. To do this, they must establish a strong and localised presence on Chinese social media. It is where the most potential fans ar

Who are Dongqiudi? Dongqiudi, established in 2013, is a platform for Chinese football fans to create communities and follow their favourite clubs from around the world, providing access to exclusive content and video. Backed by Suning group (majority stakeholders in Inter Milan), it is widely considered the number 1 football app in China having accumulated 30 million downloads and boasting over 3 million daily active users. As well as this, several premier league clubs have a

Wait, what on earth is drone racing? Naturally, you’ve have heard of drones, those unmanned flying things that make that irritating buzzing noise. Generally, we hear about them in the context of photography or as the future of delivery services, but sports? Surely not. Drone racing started in Australia in 2014 and first gained widespread recognition when a race video went viral on social media. FPV (first-person view) drone racing involves pilots, equipped with video goggles,