IMG, CCTV Ink 20-Year Deal To Develop, Market Events In China
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IMG Inks 20-Year Deal With CCTV To Develop
And Promote New Sporting Events In China |
IMG Worldwide and China state broadcaster CCTV have announced an exclusive 20-year deal to develop and promote new sporting events and programming across China, including Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. The partnership marks the first time a company based outside of China will participate in such a venture with CCTV. The joint company will be based in Beijing. Terms of the deal were not disclosed (IMG). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Blumenstein, Fowler & Futterman report the venture "aims to step up the commercialization of sports in China," and it intends to "sell sponsorship rights" to any developed events. IMG Chair & CEO Ted Forstmann: "If we are successful (in China), there are going to be a whole lot of events that exist that do not exist today." Blumenstein, Fowler & Futterman note while "potentially lucrative, the venture represents a major leap of faith by IMG that China will be able to build a modern sports industry to replace the rickety network of state-run sports federations that control most sports [in China], as well as the lives of many Chinese athletes." But China "seems intent on finding a way to extend the sports boom inspired by the Olympics." CCTV currently televises Chinese athletes competing in int'l events, but with a "few exceptions like table tennis, most of its best sports programming comes from outside China." The country lacks "what IMG does best: a push to commercialize sports by developing events to showcase such athletes, supported by sponsorships and advertising on the network that broadcasts the event to millions of households." IMG Partner Robert Lawrence Kuhn noted that the rights to "broadcast IMG sports events held outside China ... aren't included in the deal with CCTV, but CCTV could contract to buy them" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/31). IMG Senior VP & Asia Pacific Managing Dir Martin Jolly, who is based in Hong Kong, will lead the effort and report to Forstmann (THE DAILY).
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