Sina Sports agrees Australian Open partnership

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 agreement with Tennis Australia, which holds the broadcasting and marketing rights to the Melbourne event, has resulted in Sina Sports unveiling the official Mandarin language destination of the Australian Open on its digital sports platform.

A wide range of content from this year’s ongoing tournament is being made available in Chinese, with Sina stating the partnership will give Chinese fans substantially more access to the event than ever before.

A host of special features will be made available only on the official site, including match highlights, a live streaming feed of a Chinese scoreboard, player interviews, and content from matches directed specifically at Sina Sports users in China.

In addition to the website, Sina Sports will promote the Australian Open through special posts on multiple microblogging channels on its social media platform Sina Weibo.

The collaboration is the latest in a series of creative partnerships undertaken by Sina Sports to develop foreign sports brands and events in China. The company has agreed similar deals with the Dakar Rally motorsport event, English Premier League football club Manchester United and mixed martial arts series the Ultimate Fighting Championship in this month alone.