China

The Sina Sports division of Chinese internet operator Sina has entered into a partnership with the W Sportsmedia agency, which holds media rights for the Ski Classics series of long-distance skiing events.

International sports broadcaster ESPN has agreed a multi-faceted content partnership with Chinese internet company Tencent.

Infront Sports & Media has said Ma Guoli will step down as chairman of the agency’s Chinese division, while David Yang, an executive with North American basketball league the NBA, has been recruited to aid growth in the market.

Italian Serie A football team Inter Milan has entered into a partnership with Chinese internet company Le Sports for carriage of its club television channel.

Russian media group Gazprom Media Holding and China’s state-owned Shanghai Media Group have joined forces under a strategic partnership.

English Premier League club Arsenal has entered into a partnership with Total Soccer, the leading football programme on the CCTV Sports channel operated by the Chinese state broadcaster.

The Chinese digital market’s seemingly never-ending growth boosted another property last month, as the Ultimate Fighting Championship agreed a lucrative deal with PPTV Sports.

The Chinese government has intervened in the sale of media rights to the 2018 and 2022 Fifa World Cups in the country, ensuring a deal will eventually be struck with state broadcaster CCTV.

The Sina Sports division of Chinese internet operator Sina has agreed a multi-year strategic partnership with Tennis Australia revolving around the Australian Open grand slam tournament.

The Sina Sports division of Chinese internet operator Sina has agreed a deal with Dakar Rally organiser Amaury Sport Organisation to become an official media partner of the endurance motorsport event in China.

The Ali Sports division of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group has agreed a media partnership with American football league the NFL.

The Sina Sports division of Chinese internet operator Sina has acquired rights to broadcast MUTV, the in-house television channel of English Premier League football club Manchester United.

Major League Baseball has sealed its first mass market media partnership in China by agreeing a three-year deal with Le Sports, which is operated by Chinese internet company LeTV.

LeTV Sports, which is operated by Chinese internet company LeTV, has denied reports it has agreed a deal to take a 50 per cent stake in Chinese Super League football club Beijing Guoan.

The Sina Sports division of Chinese internet operator Sina has entered into a strategic partnership with mixed martial arts series the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Chinese internet company LeTV, which operates the Le Sports service, has agreed a deal to acquire a 20-per-cent stake in media technology company TCL Multimedia and will form a joint venture with Digital Domain Investments to provide live sports virtual reality services.