How could Sina Sports turn around in an unfavorable media environment?

As the appetite for Chinese sporting events grows, the battle for broadcasting rights, among several major media outlets in China, both traditional TV and IPTV operators alike, is becoming fiercer than ever before. 

As one of the major players in the booming online media market, Sina Sports, seems at a relatively unfavorable position after the selling of rights to series of international sports events, such as the NBA, LaLiga and Serie A that were settled earlier this year. Sina Sports have little to show in its blue-ribbon rights portfolio, while LeTV Sports has secured broadcasting rights to more than 200 international events.  Under such great pressure, how will Sina Sports manage to survive? Sam Li, head of content acquisitions and strategic partnerships at Sina Sports, shared his insights on the subject in an exclusive interview with Yutang Sports. 

“We offer viewers access to statistics, up-to-date photos, messages from other fans and the freedom to voice their opinions through interaction and significant engagement”, Sam Li once commented somewhere else when comparing Sina Sports with renowned CCTV. He didn't see CCTV 5 as a major competitor because “We believe that the relationship between Sina and CCTV is complimentary, especially during a live sports broadcast where we play the role of the second screen”. 

Sam Li said to Yutang Sports that Sina’s approach differs slightly from its competitors, as it positions itself as a comprehensive media-coverage company. Apart from live events, the company is focusing more on providing innovative and creative content and programs. In a more prominent way, Sina Sports signed with the likes of Michael Owen and Eden Hazard as their special commentators and analysts  for English Premier League matchups.

“What we try to provide to our loyal fan base is access to the content they want to consume regarding their favorite sport beyond the live matches,” he said.

Sam Li said they have a significant advantage over other competitors in the aspect of being able to access the  tendencies of their website visitors. They compared the total  visitors within in a month with the daily UV, the result turned out to be very positive. One out of six content consumers would visit their website on a daily basis while the ratio for the average level of the industry is 1:15. That is to say, they have already created a “sticky environment” for our users. Once viewers are used to consumer sports content on this website, they would likely establish a long term relationship with the content provider and the sports platform.

Apart from that, Sam Li expressed that they have a great content team. Some of their news editors have been working in the industry for more than ten years, which enables them to edit news and videos in a unique point of view. 

“There is a problem in China. People like to see things from its surface, but what really matters is underneath. It’s the fundamental thing, the overall content structure and the user experience. The easiest way to break into sports market is to spend money but there are things that money cannot buy. And these things are very important as well,” he said.

Another unique quality provided by Sina Sports is their content is created in a socialized way. They could build a content though co-working with their users, sports starts, professionals and sports teams. These contents and videos are exclusively accessible via the Sina platform.   

Meanwhile, Sam said they have two key tools: Sina Weibo and WeChat. These two kinds of social media are taking the country by storm. Many international organizations, including big European clubs, sports stars and other business entities have launched their account on the platforms for various reasons.  In the future, Sina will leverage these two platforms more than ever before to promote itself and reach its maximum potential.
Proofread by Michael Koran