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: 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

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: 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: 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: PP Sports Becomes Home of Bundesliga in China The German Bundesliga has signed a 5-year exclusive media partnership with Chinese digital media platform PP Sports. PP Sports will own the rights for the period 2018-2023 and will hold Bundesliga’s broadcasting and distribution rights in China for TV in cooperation with CCTV, and exclusively for internet, new media, OTT (over-the-top) services an

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: FIBA Lands Global Partnership with TCL FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, has announced a comprehensive global partnership with Chinese brand TCL, one of the world’s leading consumer electronic brands. The partnership comes into effect immediately and covers worldwide FIBA competitions until December 31, 2019. Read more on the FIBA Official Website (English) FIBA-BG Basketball Aca

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: Mailman Delivers COPA90 Partnership in China COPA90 and Mailman have officially signed a media partnership in China. Localised COPA90 content will be distributed to Chinese football fans through COPA90’s Chinese social media channels. These channels will include Weibo and Miaopai. Read more on Ecosports (Chinese) and The Drum (English) Mailman Take: In the first 6 months, the main aim will be

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: Zegna Launches Star Plan with Team China Ermenegildo Zegna Group has become a sponsor of China’s national football team. The Italian luxury menswear brand will launch a Rising Football Star Plan to help develop youth training across the country. Read more on Xinhuanet (Chinese) Mailman Take: Luxury brands engaging with sports organisations is a growing market trend. China’s teams can benefit

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: The NHL Returns to China The National Hockey League (NHL) will return to China this September for a pair of preseason games between the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames making up the 2018 O.R.G. NHL China Games. The preseason games will take place in Shenzhen (15th) and Beijing (19th). Read more on the NHL official website (English) Mailman Take: Last year, the attendance for the NHL China Ga

Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week: Tencent Signs Strategic Partnership with MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) and Chinese tech giant Tencent have announced a wide-ranging partnership that includes live-streaming 125 games and exclusive carriage of Jewel Events such as the All-Star Game and World Series. Read more on Tencent (Chinese) and CNN (English) Manchester United Partners with Ping An Ping An Bank has become the Official R

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