Asia Sports Business Weekly | 28th June

Hello Industry Friends, here is the very latest news and insights from Asia.

?? Headlines: EURO 2024 deals drive Chinese brands into Europe, KBO games to be streamed live overseas, China celebrates Olympic Day and secures 12 Paris Games Spots at Olympic Qualifier Series, JAL sponsors Liverpool, and Mataram City is ready to host the MXGP.

??? Key Industry News

EURO 2024 Sponsorship Deals Drive Chinese Brands Deeper into Europe

China’s flagship companies are filling stadiums and television screens through hefty sponsorship deals and with advertising billboards. Chinese companies account for more than one-third of the 13 top-tier sponsors at the ongoing UEFA European Championship in Germany, making the country the single-biggest source of sponsorship for the event. The strong sponsorship demonstrates the rising technological prowess and competitiveness of Chinese brands on the global stage and their commitment to expanding into overseas markets. Read more on China Daily?(English)

KBO Games to be Streamed Live Overseas

Korean professional baseball games will be streamed live for free for fans overseas, the Korean Baseball Organization (KBO) announced. Fans living outside South Korea will be able to watch games on SOOP's website or mobile app. Read more on Korea Times?(English)

?? Our Take: SOOP is a brand new streaming platform launched by the South Korean live-streaming giant AfreecaTV in May 2024. AfreecaTV has been South Korea’s reigning champion in the live-streaming space and has made strides to try to attract a foreign creator-viewer base for quite some time. By winning the international rights to KBO games, SOOP is planning on being the international center for mainstream Korean sports live-streaming as one of its main vehicles to grow its user base.

Chinese Sports Enthusiasts Celebrate Olympic Day, Embrace Paris Olympics

Sports fans across China marked Olympic Day with various sports activities, showing their enthusiasm for the upcoming Paris Olympic Games. Olympic Day aims to encourage global participation in sports, regardless of gender, age, or athletic ability. This year's Olympic Day, carrying the theme "Let's Move," inspired events in 14 Chinese cities and counties, including Beijing, Hangzhou, Nanjing and Qingdao. Read more on Xinhua?(English)

China Secures 12 Paris Games Spots at Olympic Qualifier Series

Twelve Chinese athletes secured Olympic spots in BMX freestyle, breaking, sport climbing, and skateboarding for the upcoming Paris 2024 at the conclusion of the Olympic Qualification Series (OQS) final round. The OQS, hosted in Shanghai and Budapest, represents a significant milestone in athletes' journeys towards Paris 2024, serving as the ultimate qualification stage for these four sports. Read more on China Daily (English)

Japan Airlines Becomes Liverpool’s Official Airline Partner?

The partnership with the Japanese flag carrier ends the Reds’ five-year hiatus in the airline sponsorship category, after the club’s previous deal with Malaysia Airlines ended in 2019. Read more Sport Industry Group?(English)

?? Our Take: Japan’s men’s national football team captain, Wataru Endō, currently playing for Liverpool makes this deal make sense. A huge star in his home country means fans from Japan will travel to Liverpool to watch him play live, allowing JAL to take advantage of now being an official club partner.??

China’s Teenage Basketball Star Zhang Ziyu Shows Promise at Youth Tournament

At 7-foot-3, China’s teenage basketball star Zhang Ziyu looks to have an exciting career ahead of her. Playing in her first international tournament this week, the 17-year-old created headlines after dominating at the FIBA Under-18 Women’s Asia Cup, helping China remain unbeaten in its first two games. Read more on CNN?(English)

?? Our Take: All emerging young basketball talent in China are usually compared to the great Yao Ming, but none ever manage to reach those dizzy heights. Zhang Ziyu, at 7-foot-3, is seen as a serious contender to emulate the great Yao, and is seen as the face of women’s basketball in China for years to come.

Mataram City Ready to Host MXGP 2024

Mataram City, in Lombok Island, Indonesia, is ready to host the 2024 MXGP event for the second successive year on June 29-30. Held at the Selaparang circuit, this year's event will be bigger with 24 MXGP Crossers and 22 MX2 Crossers participating, from 22 different countries. Logistics has also increased by 50% so the local economic potential is expected to increase significantly. Read more at?MXGP Official?(English)

?? Our Take:?Indonesia is increasingly holding world-class racing events regularly. After being consistent with MotoGP at the Mandalika circuit (Also in Lombok Island), now the Selarapang circuit has become a choice for world-level motocross sports by regularly holding MXGP events, which this year will be held on a larger scale. After last year's success in generating an economic impact of $8.4m, this year the government is targeting $12m, which seems realistic to achieve.

BVB to Play in Thailand?

Borussia Dortmund will play a friendly match against Thai first division side BG Pathum United in Bangkok on 21 July. The upcoming tournament will be called “114 Celebration, BG Pathum United x BVB” in honor of the 114th anniversary of Borussia Dortmund and to officially celebrate BGPU’s new E stand. Read more on Facebook?

?? Our Take: Thai football fans are very excited about this because it's the first time a first-team from the Bundesliga has come to Thailand for preseason. Normally, clubs would only send their legendary players, and BG Pathum already has a large fan base because most of the players in the team are national team members.?

?? Opinion

Year of the Dragon? Anta Unveils Olympics Uniform for Chinese Winners

Leading Chinese sportswear brand Anta has unveiled the Chinese delegation’s official uniform for victory ceremonies at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The event was held at the restored Shougang NO.3 Blast Furnace Museum in Beijing. Read more on DAO?(English)

Customised Localised Adverts for Chinese fans? Digital Technology Used at UEFA EURO 2024

As the UEFA EURO 2024 Football Championship kicked off in Germany, most Chinese fans noticed the Chinese billboards on the sidelines, and the Weibo topic #Why Chinese billboards dominate the screen at the UEFA Euro# garnered 1.7m views. Upon comparison with the live view, it can be observed that, except for a small portion of Chinese language advertisements, most of them in the TV broadcast are virtual. Read more on DAO?(English)

?? Esports

ChinaJoy 2024 Powers Up with Museum Opening and Esports Events

Asia's top game fair will return to Shanghai next month, with conferences, game shows and the opening of a national game museum. ChinaJoy, or the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference, will be held from July 26 to 29, with over 600 exhibitors, a third of them from 31 overseas countries and regions that include France, the United States, Canada and Germany. Read more on Shine?(English)

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