China's professional sports industry will reportedly reach 1.6T yuan ($242B) in annual revenue by '25, "as a flood of investment chases demand for more homegrown entertainment and answers the government's call to improve the level of Chinese national teams," according to Liu Xiaojing of CAIXIN. The report from venture capital firm China eCapital Corp. revealed the professional sports sector "will grow at a compound annual rate of more than 20 percent" from '16 to '25. Meanwhile, the larger market for amateur recreational sports will grow from the current 1.2T yuan ($182.5B) to 3.5T yuan ($532.3B) over that period, "with a 12 percent compound annual growth rate each year." One major growth source "will come from broadcasting rights fees for professional sporting events, according to the study." Such fees "are one of the biggest single revenue sources in more mature markets, and can bring in millions of dollars for a single competition or tournament." The report cited an 8B yuan ($1.2B) bid by state-owned sports broadcaster China Sports Media Ltd. for the rights to air Chinese Super League games from '16 to '20 as a "landmark event." The bid's size "took industry insiders by surprise." The report said, "The capital market has apparently paid more attention to the sports industry in the past year as the industry enters a stage that has seen explosive growth" (CAIXIN, 6/20).
