European sports rights chase digital dream in China

European sports rights in China are taking center stage for online platforms looking to boost their digital presence, while European sports leagues seek to boost waning rights values at home. IQiyi Sports — jointly owned by Nasdaq-listed iQiyi Inc., a streaming service focused on Chinese, Japanese and Korean drama and entertainment, and Super Sports Media Inc., a sports rights distributor and broadcaster with a focus on soccer — signed a four-season deal in July 2021 to show the English Premier League, or EPL, in China. The following month, iQiyi Sports, Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Suning Holdings Group Co. Ltd.-owned PP Sports acquired the digital streaming rights for the UEFA Champions League in China, from 2021/22 to 2024/25 and including the Europa League and Super Cup.

The importance of digital rights was highlighted during the Euro 2020 tournament, which according to UEFA was watched in China on streaming platforms more than on state-owned broadcaster China Central Television, or CCTV, channels, boosting audience growth 43% to 352 million viewers compared with the previous competition in 2016. China is listed as one of the key markets for UEFA.

iQiyi Sports takes over from Tencent, which had to sign an emergency one-year deal when a contract with the PP Sports platform collapsed due to nonpayment.

PP Sports EPL lost the £523 million (US$724 million) contract two years early, after failing on a payment of £160 million ($222 million) for the 2019/20 season. The move provides PP Sports with fresh rights to promote its service following the loss of the EPL. Tencent is planning to show the content on its Tencent Sports, WeChat and Aurora TV online platforms.

IQiyi Sports, which launched in China in August 2018, last raised 850 million yuan, or $124.3 million (September 2018 exchange rate), in its launch month from China Sports Capital, Hui Ying Financial Holdings Corp. and IDG Capital Partners Co. Ltd. Streaming on its own app, iQiyi Sports operates independently from iQiyi, albeit likely benefiting from access to its parent company's experience with OTT technology as well as Super Sports Media-owned sports rights.

On Aug. 16, China Mobile Ltd.-owned sports streaming service Migu sublicensed the EPL rights for the same contract period, helping soften the EPL deal's impact on iQiyi Sports' rights costs. Financial terms were not disclosed.

IQiyi raises its game

UEFA Euro 2020 was a game-changer for iQiyi Sports and sports fans in China. It was the first time the competition was broadcast on a media platform other than state-owned broadcaster CCTV. A 2014 regulation ended CCTV's monopoly on sports media rights contracts, making sports events available to commercial operators. IQiyi Sports and China Mobile-owned sports OTT service Migu became the first video platforms to broadcast the tournament at no charge to audiences.

IQiyi Sports is adding the EPL to its existing soccer properties, including La Liga, AFC Champions League, AFC Asian Cup, AFC Women Asian Cup, AFC U23 Asian Cup and the Asia World Cup Qualifiers 2022.