Wolves furthers Chinese ambitions with innovative rights deal

English Championship football club Wolverhampton Wanderers has agreed a landmark rights deal with Chinese internet company LeSports.

The agreement marks Wolves’ first major commercial agreement in China following its takeover by the Fosun International conglomerate and investment company in July.

The club’s first overseas, individual television rights deal comprises a 10-match agreement with LeSports. The agreement will result in games made available on a pay-per-view basis in China.

The batch of games under the agreement includes Wolves’ away fixtures versus local rival Aston Villa tomorrow (Saturday) and Blackburn Rovers on October 29, as well as the home game versus Derby County on November 5.

As part of the package, Wolves will have a dedicated page on the LeSports platform with game highlights and other club information. It will also include a feed from Wolves’ page on Chinese social media platform Weibo, which has been created as part of the club’s first step into the Chinese market.

Laurie Dalrymple, managing director of Wolves, said: “(This deal) marks an important first step in the club’s long-term strategy of building the Wolves brand in China.

“Millions of Chinese citizens will be introduced to Wolves for the first time, and through the assistance of colleagues from Fosun we’re in a great position to capitalise on this interest through the creation of the club’s first Weibo page.”