China Sports Business Weekly | 7 July

Here is the top sports business news you need to know from this week:

Cash-strapped LeEco Sees RMB 1.2 Billion in Assets Frozen Over Unpaid Debts

A Shanghai court has frozen 1.2 billion Yuan ($182 million) of the Chinese technology company LeEco after one of its affiliates missed loan payments. The frozen assets belonged to LeEco chairman Jia Yueting, his wife, and three LeEco affiliates. Soon after the ruling, Jia Yueting announced his resignation from the position of chairman. Earlier this week, LeEco’s subsidiary LeSports had more of their broadcasting deals terminated due to late payment. Read more on New York Times (English)

Wimbledon Partners with Tencent Sports

Tencent Sports has confirmed an agreement with the All England Lawn Tennis Club to become the exclusive digital media partner of the Championships at Wimbledon in China. From this July, Tencent will stream the entire tournament live, offer event data and promote official content through its multiple digital channels. Earlier this year, Tencent signed a similar deal with the French Open. Read more on Tencent (Chinese)

F1 Partners with Lagardere Sports in China Push

Formula One is teaming up with marketing agency Lagardere Sports to build strategic partnerships in China and raise the sport’s profile. Lagardere will identify and secure partners for Formula One in China including event promotion, media rights, digital and brand partnerships, merchandising, talent development and racing team development. Read more on Reuters (English)

Chinese Table Tennis Player Makes The 50 Most Marketable Athletes 2017 List

Sports Pro Media recently released the 50 most marketable athletes in 2017. Chinese table tennis player and current world champion Ma Long came in at 48. He is the only one Chinese athlete makes the list which was topped by British boxer Anthony Joshua. Read more on SportsPro (English)

NFL Decides Not to Stage Game in China in 2018 Due to Logistical Challenges

The NFL has dropped plans to stage a game in China in 2018. NFL Executive VP Mark Waller said the league would consider kicking off the 2019 season in China, marking its 100th anniversary. Read more on Sports Business Daily (English)

Houston Rockets Reach Agreement with Chinese Centre Zhou Qi

The Houston Rockets officially announced that the team has signed Chinese free agent forward/centre Zhou Qi. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Zhou Qi has spent the past three seasons playing for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in the Chinese Basketball Association. The 21-year-old is a member of the Chinese National Team and competed in the 2016 Olympics. Read more on NBA.com (English)

Tencent Limits Online Gameplay for Children Over Health Concerns

Chinese Internet giant Tencent has placed limits on the time that children can play on of its most popular games, King of Glory, which has about 50 million daily active users. The move follows numerous reports of concern from parents and teachers about children’s gaming habits. Players aged under 12 will now only be allowed to log in for one hour a day, and not after 9 pm. Older children will be allowed to play for two hours. There are no clear regulations dealing with gaming addiction or age verification. Tencent is working on a better implementation of its identity verification system. Read more on BBC (English)

CSL Average TV Audience Rating Reaches 0.6%

At the season’s halfway, the average live TV rating of the Chinese Super League stands at 0.60% of the total audience (estimated at over 320 million). On average, live CCTV-5 coverage reached 7.7 million viewers per minute. Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao FC is top of the rating, with an average reach of nearly 1%. Read more on SportsMoney (Chinese)

Everton FC in £60m Transfer Fund Boost After Signing Finance Deal with Chinese Bank

Everton FC has signed a landmark finance deal with the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) that could bring in tens of millions of pounds over the next three years. ICBC, one of the world’s biggest banks, has agreed to give the club a £60m three-year credit facility. The club is hoping that the deal will open up new opportunities in the massive Chinese market. Read more on Liverpool Echo (English)

Borussia Dortmund Launch Chinese Website

Borussia Dortmund is launching a Chinese website. This will provide fans in China with even better access to BVB stories and content. Read more on bvb.de

Mailman is a digital sports marketing consultancy and technology company. We help global rights holders, athletes, and leagues to build a successful business in China.