Bottom line: The latest sporting deals by LeTV, Wanda and Alibaba reflect a growing scramble to secure broadcast rights and develop sports channels in China, with more such deals likely in the year ahead.
A nascent but growing move by China’s top private companies into global sports is in 2 separate headlines, with word of significant new deals involving e-commerce giant Alibaba (NYSE: BABA) and video superstar LeTV (Shenzhen: 300104). The stories also involve the entertainment ambitions of real estate magnate Wang Jianlin, one of China’s richest men, whose Wanda Group has been at the center of 2 major global sports deals over the past year.
The first of the newest deals will see Alibaba bring US college basketball to China through a deal with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the main governing body for US college sports. The other deal has seen LeTV, China’s most valuable provider of Internet video services, raise 800 million yuan ($130 million) for its young sports division. One of the main backers in that new funding round was Wang Jianlin’s son, Wang Shicong. Read Full Post…
