Hello Industry Friends, here is the very latest news and insights from China. 📰 Headlines: Shinai lands UEFA competitions, HSBC BWF World Tour Finals set for Hangzhou, China lands 100+ gold medals at World University Games, 53.9m fans watch China - England, Xiamen gains Diamond League status, digital yuan gains momentum, China’s top social commerce trends, Pizza Hut partners with League of Legends.
🗞️ Top Industry News Shinai Sports Wins Exclusive New Media Rights to UEFA Competitions The iQiyi-owned streaming platform has obtained the exclusive new media rights of UEFA club competitions, including the UEFA Champions League and Europa League, for the 2023/24 season. Read more on Ecosports (Chinese) 💡 Mailman Take: Shinai Sports or Migu were the only likely digital broadcast destinations for UEFA competitions this season, highlighting just how much the broadcast landscape has changed in recent years. Shinai Sports, also known as iQiyi Sports, is one of the only survivors from the golden years (2014-2018) when multiple platforms were competing for the top international sports IP, spending hundreds of millions of dollars betting on a nascent digital sports broadcast market.
HSBC BWF World Tour Finals 2023-2026 Heads to Hangzhou Badminton's season-ending event will return to Hangzhou after last year's edition was moved from Guangzhou to Bangkok due to Covid-19. The first edition of the flagship event was held in 2018, as a successor to the BWF Super Series Finals. The 2023 BWF World Tour Finals is scheduled to be held from December 13 to 17, more than two months after the postponed 2022 Asian Games concludes in the city. Read more on Inside The Games (English) and Sohu (Chinese) 💡 Mailman Take: A big boost for badminton in China and another notable event coming to the shores of Hangzhou. Badminton has long been one of the most participated and watched sports in China, a country that regularly produces elite badminton talent who win medals on the big stages. As for Hangzhou, the HSBC BWF World Tour Finals will come shortly after the biggest-ever sporting moment for the city, the much-anticipated Asian Games. We expect to see even more events landing in Hangzhou in the coming years as the city continues to modernize and develop.
China Lands 100+ golds at FISU Summer World University Games Hosts China finished with more than 100 gold medals as the International University Sports Federation (FISU) Summer World University Games ended in Chengdu. The city played host to more than 6,500 athletes from 113 countries over 12 days of competition which saw numerous FISU records smashed and the hosts finish at the top of the medal table. Read more on Inside The Games (English) and Sohu (Chinese) 53.9m Fans in China Watch England Match FIFA confirmed that 53.9m viewers in China watched the country’s defeat to England during the 2023 Women’s World Cup group stages, amongst several more record viewership numbers for the tournament. Read more on SportsPro (English) and NetEase (Chinese) 💡 Mailman Take: Not the result China was hoping for with expectations high. That said, the attention and excitement from Chinese fans at the start of the tournament and throughout the group stage was sky-high, and there is clearly huge support for the Women’s National Team right across the nation, and will continue to be so for years to come. Fitness Becomes Cornerstone of Daily Life in Modern China In July, a sports and health integration association was set up in Fujian Province by local sports and health authorities with the aim to leverage sports in disease prevention, treatment, and health promotion. While Jiangsu Province boasts 12 provincial pilot centers for promoting health through physical activities, and 100 primary-level chronic disease intervention centers featuring sports-related approaches. Read more on Xinhua (English) and Xinhua (Chinese) Xiamen Gains Diamond League Status The coastal city in East China's Fujian province will stage a Wanda Diamond League meeting beginning in Autumn and for the next 10 years, making the city the second host in China of the top-flight athletics series together, together with Shanghai. The inaugural Xiamen meet will be held on Sept 2 at the newly-built Egret Stadium, a state-of-the-art project with a capacity of 53,000. Read more on China Daily (English) and Xinhua (Chinese) James Harden Receives Huge Welcome In China The NBA star arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport on August 9, opening his China tour. Harden has been to China many times, and before his departure, he said he had not been to China for four years and missed the Chinese fans and food, and wanted to experience more diverse Chinese elements. Read more on Hotnewhiphop (English) and Tencent (Chinese) Digital Yuan Gains Momentum at Summer World University Games China’s digital Yuan project received another major boost at the just concluded 31st FISU World University Games. Daily transactions made in digital Yuan on Meituan jumped by 51% during the games which ran from 28 July to 8 August, resulting in a 65.5% increase in transaction value on the food delivery and local lifestyle services app, and also serves as one of the main entry points for digital Yuan. Read more on DAO (English)
🤔 Opinion Top Social Commerce Trends in China That Brands Can Learn From The social commerce market in China is expected to continue to expand, having topped $1tr in annual global sales this year. And when it comes to which market stands out when it comes to social commerce, it has to be China, whose social commerce has increased significantly, with a 40.25% increase in market size from 2021 to 2023. Between 2021 and 2025, China’s market size is expected to rise at a 17% yearly rate. Read more on DAO (English)
🎮 Esports Yum! Brands’ Pizza Hut Partners With Riot for League of Legends in China Yum! Brands-owned restaurant chain Pizza Hut China announced that it has signed a partnership with Riot Games to work together on co-branded collaborations related to League of Legends in September. The co-branded collaborations will be only featured in Mainland China. Read more on The Esports Advocate (English) and Weibo (Chinese)
Mailman is China’s leading sports digital agency. We exist at the intersection of digital & sports. We help top sports organisations & brands to build sustainable businesses in China, one of the world's most challenging markets. Mailman is part of the Endeavor network. Learn more about our story here.