Here are the top China sports business news stories you need to know from this week:
Snooker’s China Open Raises the Stakes
As part of a new four-year agreement with its promoters, this year’s China Open prize money will total $1.39 million. The champion will pocket $316,000, second only to the $596,000 offered to the winner of the World Championship. Beijing will host the China Open between the 1st – 8th April. Read more on the official website of WorldSnooker (English)
Mailman Take: China’s growing influence in snooker acts as a catalyst for the sport’s focus shifting East. According to CCTV research, the number of snooker participants in China reached 50 million in 2016, accounting for half of the world’s snooker-playing population. 20 Chinese players currently sit in the Top 100, and more and more international players are playing in China’s lucrative snooker tournaments.
ASICS Announces New Ambassadors at Beijing Launch Event
Jiang Shuying and Li Zhiting are highly influential celebrities in China and renowned for being healthy and active. This complements the Japanese brand’s core values and helps with their brand identity and growth strategy in the Chinese market. Read more on Sina (Chinese)
Mailman Take: Integrating sports and entertainment marketing is a proactive way to build brand awareness in China. Leveraging the influence of celebrities is a perfect way of reaching a wider consumer group. Brands such as Nike, Adidas, and Puma regularly use celebrity endorsements. Furthermore, sports IPs like the French Open, NHL, and NFL also cooperate with celebrities – Kris Wu, a famous Chinese celebrity, will perform during the upcoming Super Bowl week.
Feyenoord Brings Youth Training to China
Viva China and Eredivisie champions Feyenoord will set up the Feyenoord Viva Football Academy that will open training centers across China, introducing the club’s famous professional training system and coaches to foster young talent and help develop Chinese football. Read more on XinhuaNet (English)
Mailman Take: European training academies are becoming more prominent in China due to a governmental plan to promote grassroots football. China aims to have 20,000 training schools and 50 million children playing football by 2020. European clubs are taking advantage of this opportunity to partner with local clubs, governments, and organisations, while some are looking to independently open academies in China.
Space Cycle Claims RMB 100 million Series B Financing from Alibaba Taiwan
The high-end gym company will utilise this investment to expand business in China by establishing concept stores, developing its online platform, and increasing the recruitment and training of coaches. Read more on Donews (Chinese)
NFL China Announces Chinese Celebrity as Ambassador and Performer for Super Bowl Live
Kris Wu will perform in Minneapolis on 3rd February as a warm-up to the NFL Super Bowl on the 4th. Read more on Sohu (Chinese)
Sina’s 3X3 Basketball Golden League Heads Overseas
Spanish communications group Mediapro will promote Sina’s 3X3 Basketball Golden League outside of mainland China for the next five years after becoming the exclusive media rights and commercial rights agency. Read more on Sina (Chinese)
Wanda Group Closes in on Sports Unit IPO
Chinese conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group has approached three banks – Citigroup Inc, UBS Group AG, and CLSA – to prepare its proposed initial public offering (IPO) programme for its sports subsidiary. Wanda intends to finance $1 billion via this IPO program. Read more on Reuters (English)
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Mailman is a leading China sports digital and marketing platform. We help global rights holders, athletes and brands build a successful business in China.
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