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 top-level sports IPs such as football and basketball, iQiyi is taking an alternative strategy. It has acquired popular sports IPs like golf and tennis which have a more specific target audience. As an internet streaming platform born with entertainment in its DNA, iQiyi has a mature paid membership system. From 2015 to 2017, its paid membership revenue increased 37.6%, totalling RMB 6.5 billion. Leveraging the entertainment advantage, iQiyi wants to benefit through a combination of advertisement and paid membership models. After making the announcement of all four of men’s golf’s major tournaments, iQiyi’s stock grew 4.4%. iQiyi went public in the US in March 2018.
Manchester City Cements Chinese Footprint
Chinese energy company, PAK Lighting, has renewed its partnership with Manchester City. This deal will see the company remain the official lighting partner of Manchester City in China to help engage the club with more Chinese fans in the country. Read more on Sohu (Chinese) and SportsPro (English)
Mercedes-Benz Steps into Esports Industry
Chinese esports club RNG has announced Mercedes-Benz as their new official partner. It is the first time Mercedes-Benz has sponsored an esports club and is part of a move to target younger customers in China. Read more on Tencent (Chinese)
Inter Milan Embraces New Partner
Chinese ceramics company, Monalisa Tiles, has become an official China partner of Serie A club Inter Milan. Monalisa Tiles aims to speed up its globalisation progress through sports marketing partnerships such as the one with Inter Milan. Read more on MONALISA (Chinese) and Sport Business (English)
Adidas to Sponsor CUFA League
Sportswear brand Adidas has become the title sponsor of the China University Football Association League (CUFA) for the next five years. The deal also covers the remainder of the current season. Read more on Sohu (Chinese)
Foriseland Builds Partnership with Australian Open
Chinese real estate developer, Foriseland, has become the Official Real Estate Partner in China for the 2019 Australian Open (AO). Foriseland will use the Australian Open partnership to promote Foriseland’s real estate projects on the Gold Coast by presenting the hospitality experiences at the AO. Read more on PR Newswire (Chinese) and SportsPro (English)
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