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ANTA Becomes Official Partner of Beijing 2022

Chinese sportswear brand ANTA is now a main sponsor of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. ANTA will be the official suppliers of apparel to the Chinese team and Beijing 2022 staff. ANTA has sponsored the Chinese team for the previous two Olympic Games. Read more on ChinaDaily (English)

1. Mailman Take: Chinese companies have been investing big in the Olympics, most recently Alibaba signed an 11-year deal with the IOC, which could eventually be worth over $1 billion. With the Beijing Winter Olympics on the horizon, Alibaba will no doubt benefit by having the eyes of the sporting world fixed on its home country.

Shanghai Grand Prix Gets Three More Years

Shanghai will continue to stage a Formula One Grand Prix for the next three years. F1 reached a contract extension with Chinese organiser Shanghai Juss Events Management Co. to keep the annual F1 race at the Shanghai International Circuit. The 2017 event attracted a total of 145,000 spectators. Read more on Shine (English)

1. Mailman Take: There had been growing speculation that China would no longer stage a race over the next few years due to poor attendance. Historically, the race has clashed with a national holiday and so organisers will be hoping that the change of date will remedy the lack of support.

Pac-12 and Alibaba Group Expand Partnership 

The Pac-12 Conference signed a deal with Alibaba Group, affording them the rights to distribute and stream games in China across their channels until 2024. This expansion of their 2011 partnership, gives Alibaba the rights to 175 live Pac-12 Networks events, including football and men’s basketball. Read more on Forbes (English)

1. Mailman Take: This deal is particularly important as Alibaba strive to keep pace with Tencent and PPTV, who between them own the majority of rights in the Chinese sports market.

Li-Ning Endorse CJ McCollum 

Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning has signed a multi-year endorsement contract with Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum. Li-Ning’s NBA star portfolio also includes Cleveland Cavaliers guard Dwyane Wade and McCollum’s Portland teammate, Evan Turner. Read more on BleacherReport (English)

ZTE Partner with the PGA Tour

The PGA Tour announced that ZTE has signed a three-year marketing agreement to become the Tour’s first official smartphone. ZTE will utilise the PGA Tour’s online digital assets, and certain ZTE smartphones will be pre-loaded with PGA Tour Live. Read more on ChinaDaily (English)

Shanghai to Host 2021 World Rowing Championships

Shanghai has been selected as the host city of the 2021 World Rowing Championships. The event will be held in the Shanghai Aquatic Sports Center, the same venue that was used for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. This will be the first time China has hosted the event. Read more on XinMin (Chinese)

Qualcomm Partners with NBA

Qualcomm will become the official partner for NBA Fan Carnivals. By teaming up with NBA China’s official mobile phone sponsor Vivo, Qualcomm will offer VR technology and mobile games for NBA Fan Carnivals. The technology has already been used during the NBA China Games in Shenzhen and Shanghai this month. Read more on SportsMoney (Chinese) 

Mailman is a sports digital consultancy and marketing platform and a leader in the China Sports Marketing industry. We help global rights holders, athletes, and leagues to build a successful business in China.