China Sports Media Co. Ltd. announced the purchase of broadcasting rights for the Chinese Super League, China's top-tier professional football league, for 8B yuan ($1.26B) "over the next five years," according to CHINA DAILY. The TV rights for the '15 season "fetched only" 50M yuan ($7.8M). CSL Chair Ma Chengquan said that "the increased revenue will be put into youth training programs, improvement of club facilities and the upgrading of broadcasting technology to improve every aspect of the league." President Xi Jinping, an avid football fan, "is determined to improve the sport's level and image on the world stage." Chinese FA Vice-Chair Zhang Jian said, "It's a historical day. It boosts our confidence to build CSL into one of the top leagues in the world." The CSL will receive an annual share of 1.6B yuan ($251M), "more than 30 times the current figure." The signing "will give China Sports Media exclusive rights to produce live signals as well as programs of all the 240 CSL games next season and to distribute them to multiple media outlets" (CHINA DAILY, 10/29).
