Ambitious deal set to grow Chinese game

FIBA and Tencent ink a long-term and comprehensive partnership

The NBA has worked to deepen its relationship with China in various areas over the past few years and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has no intention of letting all that good work go to waste.

Bringing the FIBA Basketball World Cup to China for the first time in 2019 and opening offices in some of China's biggest cities to expand the business are part of the federation's efforts to further develop the already booming domestic basketball market and help grow the sport in the world's most populous nation.

The latest development came this week as FIBA signed a nine-year sponsorship deal with Tencent, a leading global internet company. The agreement complements the media partnership agreed by the two parties back in May.

Under the partnership, which will run from 2017-2025, Tencent will have the status of FIBA Partner and Global Partner at all of FIBA's major national team competitions for men and women at senior and youth levels. Competitions will include the FIBA Basketball World Cups, FIBA Continental Cups, FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, FIBA U19 and U17 World Championships and FIBA Basketball World Cup Qualifiers. The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in China represents an important landmark in this agreement.

"We are extremely pleased to announce this important partnership with Tencent for the promotion of our beloved sport," said Frank Leenders, director general of FIBA Media and Marketing Services. "FIBA and Tencent share the same level of ambition and geographical scope. Tencent is a leading company, not only in China, but with a global footprint and global ambitions, while basketball is one of the very few truly global sports played everywhere around the planet in arenas, gyms and on the streets."

The sport's domestic popularity is evidenced by the roughly 300 million people currently playing basketball in China on more than 600,000 courts across the country.

FIBA is well aware of the huge potential market and the 2019 World Cup and partnership with Tencent are just the beginning of its plans to develop basketball, both in China and around the world.

"China is one of the most important markets for FIBA in its objective to confirm its leadership and make basketball the most popular sport in every single corner of the planet," said Leenders. "Chinese people take a huge interest in international basketball and their national team. We saw the largest audience for the final of the FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha last year, between China and the Philippines. About 38.7 million Chinese fans watched the victory of their home team.

"Our relationship with China and Tencent has just started. It's not just an agreement or a World Cup in China. We want more. As we said, we are very ambitious. We want to bring basketball to the next level in the country."

The comprehensive deal with Tencent will certainly help FIBA with its ambitious plans and inspire more Chinese youngsters to take up the sport.

As part of the deal, the brands which will be activated at these tournaments include Tencent's popular social network QQ.com, its instant messaging service WeChat, e-payment services WeChat Payment and QQ Wallet and online video games platform Tencent Games.

Tencent and its associated brands will also receive significant visibility at FIBA competitions, both on and off the court, and will be able to extensively promote its products and services to the global basketball community across all FIBA channels.

"Tencent has been in sports media for more than a decade, garnering experience in live broadcasting, news reporting, programming production, social interactions as well as fostering a large user base," said Tencent vice president Caitlyn Chen.

She continued: "As part of the FIBA partnership, Tencent will also deliver rich content and premium game-watching as well as interactive experiences through PC, mobile and OTT platforms.

"Basketball and other sports in China are still developing and have huge potential compared to western countries. This partnership will ensure that we offer a better overall service to China's basketball fans, and Tencent can also play an important role in helping grow the sport."

SY Lau, senior executive vice president of Tencent & president of its Online Media Group, also anticipates a mutually beneficial relationship.

"We are very glad to establish the strategic partnership with FIBA, and Tencent and FIBA will work together closely in a variety of capacities in the coming nine years, particularly for the 2019 and 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cups," said Lau.

"Built upon a massive user base of around 800 million viewers, Tencent will keep working on expanding the influence of international basketball in China and driving China's sports industry to new heights through a range of ever-improving media products and technologies."

chenxiangfeng@chinadaily.com.cn