Expect more free sport on your mobile, but not for long

I was reminded recently of the amazing progress that has been made in mobile Internet technology.

Despite being on holiday, deep in the countryside of the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, I was able to watch a live soccer match, on my smartphone, being held in a different province, between two leading international teams.

There were no TV sets in my hostel in Guilin, but its wireless Internet service meant I could still watch the match between Spanish La Liga giants Real Madrid and Italian Series-A counterparts Inter Milan, being played in Guangzhou, the capital city of Guangdong province.

Guilin is a modern international tourist city, but nearby local Zhuang and Yao ethnic people still plant rice in long, narrow paddy fields on hill sides, as they have for hundreds of years.

The rich, green mountain views were stunning, and offered a fantastic contrast to my busy urban life－but as a football fanatic, I was still desperate not to miss the match.

Thanks to China's growing investment in Internet services, I didn't.

This would not have been possible five years ago, when Chinese soccer fans could only watch big games via live TV coverage.

This Real vs Milan match was covered live by LeTV.com, one of the country's leading online video platforms which provided commentary both in Mandarin and Cantonese.

The 40,000 crowd in Guangzhou was joined by 10 times that number online, said Gao Fei, CEO of the Internet business group at the LeTV.com.

"A growing number of people who previously watched TV have shifted to mobile terminals. That's why we have invested a lot in covering major sport, to boost our presence in the online video industry," said Gao.

Traditional Chinese online video content providers such as LeTV have been quick to see the potential of tapping into China's increasing number of sports fans, who are now turning in their millions to watching via mobile.

Citing official data, Gao said the number of Internet users in China is now between 600 million and 700 million, more than half the entire population.

To deliver more sports content, online video providers have spent huge sums buying the rights to events in recent years, from traditional TV stations or sports organizers.

LeTV.com signed a strategic partnership agreement with the organizers of the China leg of the International Champions Cup (of which Real beating Milan 3-0 was part) to stream live coverage of three matches on its website and mobile apps, plus other promotional activities surrounding the event.

Lei Zhenjian, the CEO of LeTV Sports, said bringing coverage of the prestigious tournament to China marks a significant expansion into a new field for the Internet and technology company.

"The move demonstrates our commitment to developing the LeTV Sports ecosystem by not only providing unique and innovative content via PC, mobile devices and smart TV, but also bringing world-class sporting events to Chinese fans."

Following the government's move in 2014 to open up the broadcasting rights of live sporting events, a number of online video providers have signed agreements with international sports content providers to bring some of the world's biggest spectacles to China.

Tencent Sports, for example, has spent $500 million on the rights to broadcast live National Basketball Association games over the next five seasons.

The Chinese market can expect such huge investment in live sport on the Internet by online video providers to continue, spending which will inevitably reduce the size of TV audiences. This is certainly encouraging more younger Internet users to watch using mobile devices.

I have one concern, though－how long will I be able to watch for free?

Taken from China Daily