A local cameraman covering a Manchester United game. (Photo : Getty Images)
English Premier League giant Manchester United agreed on a multi-year partnership with China digital sports media company Sina Sports to bring the club's MUTV channel to the Asian country in an attempt to make it available to the massive Chinese audience.
SkySports indicated that the Old Trafford residents are keen on competing with neighborhood rival Manchester City, who sold a significant amount of its stake to Chinese businessmen last month, for the untapped opportunities that could come from the Asian viewers.
United's deal only includes TV broadcast rights, though, and not any type of shareholding.
The report also mentioned about the "growing interest" of the Far East audience in watching Premier League games. LeTV said to have "paid 400m dollars for the 2016-19 Premier League rights in Hong Kong - double the value of the previous three-year deal".
The Sun noted that the exact contract amount and duration "are yet to be disclosed", but estimations of over £500 million in revenue just this new year have been projected.
"This is an important and exciting partnership, not only for Manchester United but also for our Chinese fans," United managing director Richard Arnold said. "The club works tirelessly on new and innovate ways in which we can engage with our fans and this is a classic example of how our commercial partnerships allow us to do this."
Meanwhile, Sina Sports senior vice president and general manager Arthur Wei said that "MUTV broadcasting in China is not only a first for Manchester United, but also a first for any 24/7 dedicated Premier League club channel".
"This partnership is a great example of the vision we have to provide Chinese fans with more and more diversified, deeper sports content. We anticipate this will make great strides to change the way China watches and understands the game of football," he added.
MUTV is a 24-hour subscription-based television channel whose content features all things Manchester United, including live games, game highlights, behind the scenes, and press conferences. The deal makes Sina Sports the exclusive broadcaster of the channel in China.
