The Chinese Super League has signed TV broadcasting deals this year with two major sports broadcasting networks: UK’s Sky Sports and France’s Ma Chaîne Sports (MCS).
A new chapter in China’s footballing world unfolds as CSL attracts further media interest in Europe. Sky Sports has signed a three-year broadcasting deal to air live CSL games in the UK. This will be the latest addition to Sky Sports’ unrivalled broadcasting schedule of live football and many other sporting events such as Formula 1 and all the four major golf championships. The first CSL game on Sky Sports will be shown this Saturday July 30 where Shanghai Shenhua will face Jiangsu Suning. Now valued at £277 million, CSL has seen the largest growth out of all national football leagues with an 81% growth in value during the last season.
This new TV deal could be attributed to the growing number of world class footballers in Europe drawn to CSL over the past couple of years. Consequently, many UK football fans can continue to follow some big-name players who previously featured in the Premier League. Former Chelsea players Demba Ba and Ramires now represent CSL’s Shanghai Shenhua and Jiangsu Suning, respectively. Other examples include ex-Southampton striker Graziano Pelle who represents Shandong Luneng and ex-Tottenham midfielder Paulinho who plays for 2015 AFC Champions Guangzhou Evergrande.
In April, MCS became the first European broadcaster to acquire TV rights to CSL. The coverage began during the sixth round of fixtures for this season and the French broadcaster will continue to show live games until the end of the season in December. There will be four live CSL games per weekend on MCS, according to French newspaper L’Equipe.
With these two new broadcasting deals, CSL’s growing popularity will continue. Also, thanks to the arrival of numerous international football stars since the past Winter transfer window, the European football fans will recognize quite a few familiar faces in CSL. Gary Hughes, head of football for Sky Sports, claims: “This is more great news for football fans as we get set for our biggest ever season on Sky Sports.”
Comentarios