Online video platform iQIYI has agreed a long-term deal to become the official digital rights partner of the Women’s Tennis Association in China.
The agreement will run for 10 years, from 2017 through to 2026.
iQIYI will stream live coverage of more than 2,000 WTA tennis matches during the course of the deal. iQIYI will also stream exclusive highlights, player interviews and content from the WTA Magazine Show.
iQIYI will also have non-exclusive rights to video clips and the use of the WTA official newsfeed.
WTA content will be available to iQIYI users via desktop, mobile devices and over-the-top television via the internet in English, Cantonese and Mandarin.
WTA president Micky Lawler said: “This is a first-of-its-kind partnership for the WTA in China. iQIYI’s platform reinvents our digital offer in China in line with the new ways fans consume sports and entertainment content today, and in the future.”
Geng Xiaohua, senior vice-president at iQIYI, added: “As tennis’s popularity continues to boom in China, we believe that iQIYI’s high quality users and traffic make it the perfect channel for the WTA to further promote its tournaments in China.”
Confirmation of the WTA deal comes as iQIYI also announced that it had struck an agreement to become the official digital streaming portal in China for golf’s PGA Tour.