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:

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

Why Most Companies Will Fail In China’s Sports Economy By Andrew Collins The Chinese sports economy has gone through a radical shift in the past 5 years, with the catalyst being Xi Jinping’s proclamation of China’s sports ambitions. This spurred investors into the market, service providers and a sea of ‘copycat’ companies looking to capture market share from China’s active consumers. Fast forward 3 years since that heralded speech by President Xi, and the market has adjusted

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: Liverpool Renews MG China Deal The renewal sees the car brand’s partnership with the club continue for a third successive year. The agreement has already witnessed the creation of limited edition LFC branded vehicles, the launch of a TV commercial, and club legends attending International Motor Shows in China. Read more on Liverpool’s Official Website (English) and NetEase Automobile (Chinese

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Joint Membership Launch for Tencent Sports & Manchester City Tencent Sports has teamed up with English Premier League champions Manchester City FC to launch a joint membership and further engage Tencent customers with the football club’s Chinese fans. This new partnership aims to provide an abundance of exclusive offers and benefits to members. Read more on Tencent Sports (Chinese) Mailman Ta

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Mailman Strikes Partnership with Dugout China’s leading sports digital consultancy, Mailman, will work closely with Dugout’s network of contributors to produce exclusive and behind the scenes content tailored to Chinese audiences. The content will be distributed across numerous platforms including Weibo and Douyin. Dugout is a JV comprising of 9 top European football clubs providing original

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: 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

What is Douyin? Douyin is a mobile-based 15-second video platform that’s gained massive popularity in China over the last year. It currently has over 100 million registered users and its 66 million daily active users rack up over 1 billion video views every day. Originally launched in 2016 by Chinese technology company Bytedance Inc. Douyin received a large investment from news platform Toutiao (also a ByteDance company) early in 2017 and has also been launched in other parts

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

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: FIFA Lands in China This week, FIFA announced its first official digital presence in China on Weibo – the country’s largest social media platform with 392 million monthly active users. To kick off its arrival in China, the official @FIFA account created a 2018 FIFA World Cup interactive campaign called ‘Pass the Ball’ to engage Chinese fans. Read more on FIFA Official Website (English) Mailma

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Germany Sign NetEase as Exclusive Media Partner NetEase has become the German National Team’s exclusive online media partner for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, following on from signing the same deal with the French National Team. This official partnership will allow NetEase to access the personality rights of players among other exclusive rights. Read more on EastDay Sports (Chinese) Mailman Take:

For the past week, China has been celebrating and welcoming in the Year of the Dog. Despite these celebrations, we’ve picked the top sports business news stories from the past 7 days. Alibaba Teams Up with Renault’s F1 Team The Renault Formula One team have announced a partnership with Alibaba-owned Tmall for the upcoming 2018 season. The deal will see the Tmall’s logo displayed clearly on Renault’s new F1 race car. Read more on SportsPro Media (English) Mailman Take: Alibaba

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Soccerex and Mailman Announce Partnership Soccerex, a leading provider of business events for the global football community, has signed a partnership with Mailman, that will see the leading Chinese sports digital consultancy and marketing platform act as the Official China Marketing Partner for the inaugural Soccerex China event this April in Zhuhai. Read more on Soccerex (English) Mailman Ta