China

Chinese internet company Tencent has acquired rights for Major League Baseball as part of a broader partnership with the North American league.

Chinese sports and entertainment company Wuhan DDMC Culture Co has acquired rights for Spanish football’s LaLiga.

Chinese state broadcaster CCTV has acquired rights for the Formula One motor-racing world championship.

Asian mixed martial arts promotion the One Championship has agreed a rights deal with China’s Great Sports Media.

Chinese internet company Tencent has further strengthened its presence in the domestic live streaming market by making major investments in two platforms that specialise in esports.

State broadcaster CCTV, Shanghai-based satellite television broadcaster Great Sports and online streaming platform Tencent Sports will share rights to the 2018 season of the Formula One motor-racing championship in China, according to the Jiemian.com website.

North America’s Major League Soccer has agreed a streaming partnership with sports marketing agency China Sports Media.

The IMG agency has sealed a three-year extension to its contract to sell and distribute global media rights to the Chinese Super League, the top tier of club football in China.

Imagina, parent company of the Mediapro agency, and Orient Hontai Capital have formally sealed a deal through which the Chinese private equity firm will acquire a majority stake in the Spanish media group.

Chinese investment fund Orient Hontai has ratified a deal to acquire a controlling stake in Imagina, the parent company of the Mediapro agency, according to Spanish newspaper El Confidencial.

China Sports Media’s deal for Chinese Super League domestic rights – the emblematic deal of China’s sports-rights gold rush – will be worth just two-thirds of its initial annual value following a renegotiation.

The value of Australian Open tennis rights in China increased by 75 per cent in the new cycle, from 2018 onward, following new digital and linear broadcast deals.

The China Sports Media agency has struck a five-year extension to its rights deal for the Chinese Super League, the top division of domestic club football.

The Pyeongchang Organising Committee for the 2018 Olympic and Paralympic winter Games (POCOG) has agreed a strategic partnership with Chinese social media platform Weibo.

Internet company Google has invested in Chinese esports platform Chushou in a move designed to enhance its presence in a market where its search engine is not accessible.

Jia Yueting, the founder of Chinese tech company LeEco, has defied an order to return to the country to address mounting debts.