Hello Industry Friends, here is the very latest news and insights from China. 📰 Headlines: The UFC confirms Shanghai Fight Night for December, IOC and CMG sign MoU, Chengdu eyes top sports city status, more regulations for internet addiction, Kuaishou doubles down on rural influencers, 4th Asian Para Games closes, a guide to China’s ‘Black Friday’, and WRL-A2 kicks off in Shanghai.
🗞️ Top Industry News UFC Announces Shanghai Fight Night The Ultimate Fight Championship (UFC) announced its return to China with UFC Fight Night Shanghai and the finals for Road To UFC Season 2 in early December. This will be the fourth event UFC has held in mainland China, and will take place at the iconic and newly renovated Shanghai Indoor Stadium. Read more on SportBusiness (English) and Xinhua (Chinese) 💡 Mailman Take: Four years without an event in China has left fans hungry for live action. The Road To UFC Season 2 quarter-finals at the UFC Shanghai Performance Institute in August gave them a taste, and now they’re going to get a stacked Fight Night at a packed-out, newly renovated arena in downtown Shanghai. Bring it on!
IOC and CMG Strengthen Ties with Memorandum of Understanding The International Olympic Committee (IOC) President, Thomas Bach, and the China Media Group (CMG) President, Shen Haixiong, signed a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two organisations. The signing happened at Olympic House in Lausanne, and it states that the IOC and CMG will continue to collaborate and work together throughout their partnership. Read more on IOC (English) and Sohu (Chinese) Chengdu Targets a 'World-Famous City of Sport Events' The up-and-coming city is striving to build itself into a world-famous city of sporting events, having hosted the World Police and Fire Games in 2019, the Chengdu 2022 World Team Table Tennis Championships Finals and the Chengdu FISU Games in 2023. It also recently announced that the 12th edition of the World Games will be held in Chengdu, from Aug 7 to 17 in 2025, with 5k athletes from around the world competing in 35 sporting events. Read more on China Daily (English) and Zhuada6 (Chinese) Internet Addiction: China Rolls Out Most Comprehensive Regulations Yet Premier Li Qiang has signed off on a new set of regulations designed to create a safer online environment for China’s youth and curb the growing problem of short video addiction. The regulations, in effect on Jan 1 next year, state the help of schools and technology companies to protect minors online through improved internet literacy education and specialised intervention software. Read more on DAO (English) and The Paper (Chinese) Kuaishou Doubles Down on Support for Rural Influencers The video-sharing app has become the champion of rural influencers - a genre that has taken off in recent years. Videos showing daily life in the countryside have won the hearts of China’s city dwellers, who marvel at the skilled farming, cooking and handicrafts of their rural counterparts. Read more on DAO (English) and Tencent (Chinese) 4th Asian Para Games Concludes with Heartfelt Closing Ceremony With poetry, music and love, the 4th Asian Para Games bade farewell to all participants during the closing ceremony at the Olympic Sports Center Stadium in Hangzhou. After seven days of action, the Para Games culminated in a touching finale that was full of Chinese-style romance. Read more on China Daily (English) and Xinhua (Chinese) Shein Buys Missguided Brand The Chinese clothing giant is buying the Missguided brand name from Frasers Group. Frasers announced that it was selling Missguided's intellectual property and trademarks to Shein, but it’s retaining the real estate as well as Missguided's employees, both of which "have now been integrated into Frasers' fashion division". Read more on BBC (English) and NetEase (Chinese
🤔 Opinion China’s ‘Black Friday’ is Here: What Brands Need to Know About Singles’ Day 2023 For luxury brands, seizing the spotlight on China’s Double 11 or Singles’ Day shopping festival involves a sophisticated mix between exclusivity and accessibility. Held on November 11 each year, Singles’ Day is among the most important shopping festivals in China. This year, as virtual shopping carts begin to fill, two trends are taking center stage: an unprecedented commitment to value-driven pricing and an e-commerce landscape where traditional storefronts vie for consumer attention with emerging technology. Read more on Jing Daily (English)
🎮 Esports WRL-A2 Esports Event Opens in Shanghai The mobile League of Legends regional league event, the Wild Rift League Asia Season 2, opened in Shanghai, with more overseas participation and international clubs, fitting well with the city's ambition to establish itself as a global esports hub. A total of 11 Chinese mainland clubs and eight overseas teams from South Korea, Thailand and Vietnam are taking part in the WRL-A2, which will be held at the League Arena (formally the Hongqiao Tiandi Acting Center) between November 1 and January 28. Read more on Shine (English) and The Paper (Chinese)
Founded in China in 1999, Mailman has evolved to become Asia’s leading sports digital agency. We are digital marketers who help sports rights holders enhance their local brand equity and create sustainable presences. We exist at the intersection of digital & technology, helping the world’s biggest sports, entertainment & lifestyle brands build successful businesses in international growth markets. Mailman is part of 160over90, an Endeavor company. Learn more about our story here.
Comments