Asia
Features
Unsuccessful initial tender raises questions over K-League’s domestic media strategy
Korea’s K-League and the Korean Football Association have pooled their media rights, but an initial tender attracted no firm bids, forcing the rights-holders to extend the deadline and change the tender’s terms to allow consortia to participate.
Fifa will need more than eager investors to make new club competition work
Sports marketing companies and private equity houses bidding to become the vehicle for the delivery of Fifa’s new China-hosted club competition in 2021 will face the same challenge: the competition is only likely to be successful if a Chinese company is involved.
Bilibili aims to fulfil esports potential in China with League of Legends deal
Mobile gaming and streaming company Bilibili is hoping its deal for rights to the next three League of Legends World Championships will demonstrate the strategic power of top-tier esports content in China.
IOC extends non-Tokyo Games rights growth trend in Japan to 2032
The International Olympic Committee extended a long run of media-rights revenue growth in Japan in its latest deal with the market’s free-to-air broadcaster consortium for 2026 to 2032, when the special case of the large Tokyo 2020 sales cycle is disregarded.
Sport spearheads Djarum’s bid for ‘premium player’ status in Indonesian media
OTT platform Mola TV has lit a fire under the Indonesian sports-media industry in the last year with the rapid rollout of its new service and a string of media-rights acquisitions. In an exclusive interview, Mirwan Suwarso, a representative of the company, tells SportBusiness Media that sports content is the spearhead of a wider plan by parent company Djarum to create a major domestic and international media business.
Plan B in talks to sublicense Tokyo 2020 Olympics in Thailand
The Plan B Media agency is in talks with multiple broadcasters in Thailand to sublicense the Tokyo 2020 Olympics rights, which it acquired from the Japan-based Dentsu agency in a surprise move this summer.
Thai FA aims to attract international bidders to drive rights value in new tender
The Football Association of Thailand and its media-rights sales adviser, the Octagon agency, expect a competitive market to deliver a revenue increase of over a third in their forthcoming tender for domestic and international rights to club and home-fixture national team events for the 2021-28 cycle.
NBA talks go to wire in the Philippines after Solar loses appetite
Filipino pay-television broadcaster Solar Entertainment Corporation withdrew from talks to renew its long-held rights to the National Basketball Association last week after deciding the property had become too expensive, SportBusiness Media understands.
DAZN cuts LaLiga losses in Vietnam with SCTV sublicense deal
DAZN has sublicensed its rights to Spanish football’s LaLiga in Vietnam to local pay-television broadcaster SCTV from 2019-20 to 2022-23, substantially cutting its losses on the property after postponing plans to launch an OTT service in Southeast Asia.
Emtek picks up Uefa Champions League rights in Indonesia after FMA deal collapse
Indonesian media company Elang Mahkota Teknologi (Emtek) has agreed a two-season deal with Uefa for Champions League and Europa League rights, which became available after the collapse of the rights-holder’s deal with the Futbal Momentum Asia agency.
Ewell Zhao, General Manager, Tencent Sports
Ewell Zhao talks about Tencent’s rights renewal with the NBA, its method for valuing sports media rights and the future of the Chinese sports video streaming industry.
China’s Tencent sees off Youku to keep NBA digital rights in record deal
Chinese social media giant Tencent saw off competition from rival streaming player Youku Tudou to retain the NBA’s digital rights in the country for the 2020-25 cycle at a record-breaking fee, underscoring the strong growth in China’s streaming market in recent years.
Fox squeeze opens door to GolfTV push for The Open in Asia-Pacific
Fox Sports Asia’s desire to reduce its spend on rights to The Open in Asia-Pacific opened the door for OTT platform GolfTV to grab non-exclusive rights alongside the pay-television broadcaster.
Ambitious JTBC shakes Korean FTA broadcasters, delivers strong Olympics fee for IOC
South Korean pay-television broadcaster JTBC’s recent acquisition of Olympics Games rights has jolted the country’s sluggish sports media rights market and delivered an unexpectedly strong fee increase for the International Olympic Committee.
Mola adopts holistic strategy for Premier League rights exploitation in Indonesia
Mola TV, the new entrant to Indonesia’s sports broadcasting market, is employing a novel strategy straddling pay-television, free-to-air and digital distribution channels to exploit the Premier League rights it has acquired for the upcoming 2019-22 cycle.
Uefa secures robust European Championship fee increase in Vietnam
The value of rights in Vietnam for the Uefa European Championship increased by over 40 per cent in the latest deal with the incumbent public-service broadcaster VTV, covering the 2020 tournament, which is held every four years.
Value of Premier League tumbles in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos
After two failed negotiations in an uncompetitive environment, the English Premier League has completed a deal in Thailand, Cambodia and Laos with pay-television broadcaster TrueVisions that will see the value of its rights halve.
LaLiga agrees early China extension amid cooling market
Spanish football’s LaLiga extended its rights deal in China with Wuhan DDMC Culture in May without going to market, where it would have faced a tough task maintaining its income, SportBusiness Media understands. The Chinese rights market has cooled since the previous deal was agreed, and DDMC is thought to be paying the league a strong rights fee.
Star poised for Premier League discount in uncompetitive India
Indian pay-television broadcaster Star is close to renewing its rights for the English Premier League at a discount, having faced little competition in the auction, SportBusiness Media understands.
Premier League slumps in South Korea as agency interest evaporates
South Korea can be added to the list of Asian markets where English Premier League rights have fallen in value in the 2019-20 to 2021-22 cycle, SportBusiness Media has learned.
MP & Silva exit, shadow of Tokyo 2020 make Euros a tough sell in Japan
Uefa’s national-team rights revenue in Japan is set to shrink in the 2018-19 to 2021-22 cycle, covering Euro 2020, with demand hit by next year’s Tokyo Olympics and last year’s collapse of the MP & Silva agency.
Malaysian domestic football deal collapse signals Telekom Malaysia retreat
The collapse of Telekom Malaysia’s deal for domestic football rights is part of a politically-driven restructuring at the government-linked telco that has seen it exit the entire sports rights market, local industry experts say.
Sustained struggles for Premier League in Asia as Japan, Philippines values fall
English Premier League rights are set to fall in value in yet more Asian markets, with weak competition triggering a 32 per cent drop in the value of its rights in Japan and the Philippines.
Olympics value down in India after pay-TV consolidation
The International Olympic Committee has seen its Olympic Games rights fee fall in the Indian subcontinent, driven by the long consolidation in the country’s pay-television market.