MLB to air Yankees-Sox on Chinese provincial stations
Saturday, 3rd April 2010 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (2)
Guangdong pitcher on the mound at 2009 National Games in Jinan
But Major League Baseball clearly hasn't given up—the league recently announced that the season opener between the Yankees and Red Sox will broadcast live in China this year, for the first time ever. The game takes place at 8 p.m. Eastern on Sunday, April 4, which is 8 a.m. the next day in China. That's not exactly prime time, but Monday is a national holiday in China, so people should at least be home. And as the Hollywood Reporter so nonchalantly points out, thanks to the prevalence of cremation in the space-starved nation, few people have grave sites to visit this Tomb Sweeping Day, a holiday for honoring deceased relatives.
With no deal to air games on CCTV-5, the national sports channel that has a near monopoly on the market, MLB is taking an alternative route to broader exposure in China—agreements with a bundle of the country's biggest provincial TV stations. The league has added Chongqing TV and Shaanxi TV to existing contracts with Guangdong TV, Shenzhen TV and Jiangsu TV. Guangdong TV will air This Week in Baseball, Championship Season games and the World Series, according to BizofBaseball.com.
For the tiny number of diehard baseball fans in China, MLB last year made great improvements to its local Web site, MLB.cn including high-quality free streaming of games. The league's youth development program, Play Ball, continues this year with programs in 120 schools in five cities.
Paralleling the league's efforts, the New York Yankees act independently to push their own brand in China. A few small Yankees stores market pinstripes inside big-city malls, and the team works closely with Kenny Huang of QSL, which has an agreement with the Chinese Baseball Association to develop youth baseball. QSL arranged for the Yankees to tour China earlier this year to do photo ops with young people and the Commissioner's Trophy.
Related:
NYT: Yankee Emissaries seek fans in China
Tags: baseball, Boston Red Sox, CCTV-5, Kenny Huang, MLB, New York Yankees, QSL, TV
Premier League games to air on CCTV?
Monday, 19th January 2009 ~ Maggie ~ Link ~ Comments (0)
According to this Bloomberg story, a conglomerate of advertisers is working on a bid to buy Chinese television rights to the English Premier League, which they would then give to CCTV (state television) in exchange for free advertising spots. This would give all of China free access to Premier League games, which currently air on subscription-based WinTV, which has had trouble building an audience.Getting games broadcast widely in China is generally thought by international sports leagues to be a necessary ingredient to building a fan base here. The NBA's popularity is helped quite a bit by the fact that 14 games are broadcast in China every week of the season. According to the Bloomberg story, however, Premier League head of international broadcasting and media operations Phil Lines says that rights will go to the highest bidder (i.e., without consideration for the audience that bidders can garner).
But some of the league's clubs seem to prefer prioritizing audience growth in China. Bloomberg Manchester United Chief Executive Officer David Gill: "There has been lessons learned this year in this contract and will be addressed going forward. We, along with Chelsea, along with Liverpool, along with Arsenal, have made the point. We must have better exposure."
Television isn't the only medium Chinese fans rely on for watching sports. Illegal online streaming is growing in popularity as well, much to the chagrin of TV stations and leagues that want control over their product. NY Times: Online Piracy Menaces Pro Sports.
WinTV's contract expires in 2010 and bidding will likely begin in the spring.
Tags: CCTV, CCTV Sports, football, Manchester United, Premier League, soccer, TV, WinTV