Alibaba has been inking deals with entertainment firms, the latest of which is its partnership with Disney. (Photo : Reuters)
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. has marked its official entry to the lucrative sports sector by establishing its own sports unit on Wednesday.
The Alibaba Sports Group, which will be under the control of Alibaba Group, is a co-investment with Internet portal Sina Corp. and private equity firm co-founded by Alibaba chair Jack Ma, Yunfeng Capital.
The Hangzhou-based firm revealed that former Shanghai Media Group vice president Zhang Dazhong will be the sports unit's CEO, while Alibaba CEO Zhang Yong will be the chairman.
"Alibaba Sports is aiming to generate new values and upgrade the whole sports industry with our digital ecosystem," Zhang Yong stated.
Zhang also highlighted the role of the Internet as an important infrastructure for economic development.
Nonetheless, the move was not the first time that the leading e-commerce giant made an attempt to enter the sports industry.
Earlier in June, Alibaba has invested 1.2 billion yuan for a whopping 50-percent stake in Guangzhou Evergrande Football Club, which was rebranded as Guangzhou Evergrande Taobao.
The official foray of Alibaba into the lucrative sector comes in a timely manner as China is seeing a growing appetite for better sports content.
Moreover, the launching of the Alibaba Sports Group is also regarded as part of Alibaba's efforts to boost and diversify revenue sources. Recently, the Internet conglomerate has been posting slower growth rates.
Apart from sports, Alibaba has also set its foot in the healthcare and entertainment industries. The e-commerce powerhouse has established separate units for the two.
