Hisense Named Official Partner of FIFA Club World Cup 2025
01 Nov 2024 16:40
More and more Chinese are willing to spend money in sports, according to a recent report launched by the State General Administration of Sports. The report says that of people from twenty years old and upwards in China, 39.9% spent money on sports in 2014, with a per capita consumption of 926 yuan (US$ 145). Obviously, China has welcomed this boom in the sports industry because people care more about their health than their purses. That’s why many sports industry giants and start-ups have rushed into this market. But how do they make money in this fiercely competitive market? A quick analysis shows how investors are doing in the Chinese sports market.
To start with, big business like Wanda, Alibaba Sports, Sina Sports, Le Sports, and PPTV are passionate about media rights, which means high prices. For example, the acquisition of Swiss sports-marketing company Infront Sports & Media has cost Wanda Group EUR 1.05 billion in Spring this year. But it is worthwhile because Infront has maintained partnerships with dozens of media companies internationally, and its professional sports media branch HBS has accumulated considerable resources in events broadcasting.
Also, mass sports start to reveal its charm in China. For instance, 2015 has seen running fever hitting several different cities. People see marathons as fashionable as well as being an achievement. Therefore, they need sportswear, equipment and facilities, which provide excellent opportunities for online shopping malls like Alibaba, and marathon organizers like Le Sports.
In addition, foreign clubs are looking to expand their youth training projects in China. Brazilian soccer legend, Ronaldo Nazario, has started his soccer schools recently by partnering with New Oriental and Alibaba Sports. Another football academy FCBEscola has finalized its pilot project in Qingdao, Shangdong, to promote the Barçelona training model in China. There is no doubt that youth training will develop rapidly, considering the strong policy support, huge investment and foreign partnerships.
“The government pictured such a profitable future for the industry, which otherwise couldn’t be imagined,” Li Jiang, executive director of Yutang Sports, said to the Wall Street Journal in a recent interview. “Even more foreign investors and talents are recently approaching us for cooperation, which I could not have imagined before.”
Source: The Wall Street Journal, Netease, fjsen.com, Chuancai Securities
Proofread by John Devlin
The United States Tops Skema Publika's First Annual Sport and Soft Power Ranking
27 Mar 2025 14:05
Related coverage
Le Sports seals exclusive FA Cup broadcast rights
14 Mar 2016
22 Jan 2016
PPTV to share broadcasting rights with partners
08 Jun 2017
Shanghai Oriental Pearl plans €18M for Infront’s shares
16 Jul 2015
Nielsen partners with Sina Weibo in China
09 Aug 2016
More from Yutang Sports
The United States Tops Skema Publika's First Annual Sport and Soft Power Ranking
27 Mar 2025
SPORTACCORD confirms Istanbul as Host City for 2025 Convention
13 Mar 2025
When New tournaments Meets New Tech, the Old Friend of Football Has New Stories
14 Jul 2025
Hisense Named Official Partner of FIFA Club World Cup 2025
01 Nov 2024
Yutang Sports
loading...