LeSports (China)

The Infront agency has already exceeded its guarantee to Fifa for rights to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups across Asia with rights to the 2022 tournament still to sell in all but its most-valuable market, China, TV Sports Markets understands.

Digital streaming service LeSports has sold on its Fifa World Cup 2018 rights in Hong Kong at a significant discount as it plans to cease operations in the territory.

OTT operator LeSports’ latest financing round could be at risk if rights-holders take legal action over missed payments, TV Sports Markets understands.

Chinese retail giant Suning’s sporting subsidiaries are filling gaps in the country’s media-rights market left by the retreat of streaming operator LeSports.

Chinese internet company LeEco has said it will cut 10 per cent of staff from its LeSports division amid ongoing concerns over rising debt.

Chinese streaming operator LeSports will change its acquisition strategy to focus on premium content, chief executive Lei Zhenjian told TV Sports Markets this week.

Aggressive Chinese OTT operator LeSports has cash-flow problems, resulting in delays to payments for many of its deals.

Chinese OTT player PPTV pulled out of its deal for French Open tennis rights shortly before this year’s tournament began, TV Sports Markets understands.

Behind Le Sports’s huge Chinese Super League deal is a partnership that could shift the competitive balance of the Chinese digital market.

Major League Baseball’s three-year deal with Chinese internet operator Le Sports guarantees the league extensive coverage in China for the first time.

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.

Chinese internet company LeTV, which operates the Le Sports service, has acquired exclusive rights in Hong Kong for football’s 2018 Fifa World Cup, according to the South China Morning Post newspaper.

The ATP World Tour earned hugely improved terms in new deals covering China and India this month.

The Asian Football Confederation will enjoy a huge increase in the value of its rights in China in its new deal with Le Sports.

The Pac-12 US college sports conference has expanded its rights partnership with Chinese internet company LeTV.

Chinese internet company LeTV Sports’s acquisition of English Premier League rights in Hong Kong is indicative of the company’s international ambitions.