NFL announces China digital streaming partnership with Tencent
By Don Povia
The NFL announced a three-year streaming deal to bring games to China.
In an effort to grow the league internationally, the NFL announced a three-season deal (2017, 2018, 2019) with Tencent Holdings Limited to provide live streaming and on-demand games in China.
"The partnership also features other expanded footage and programming rights, such as the NFL Draft, NFL Combine, and NFL Game Day, as well as programming such as NFL Hard Knocks and A Football Life, further bolstering Tencent’s non-game NFL content, making Tencent the home of the NFL in China.NFL live games and content will be available for fans to access through Tencent’s NFL sections on both mobile and desktop terminals including Tencent Sports, QQ.com, Tencent Video, Kuai Bao, Penguin Live, Tencent Sports app, Tencent Video app, Tencent News app, as well as its social networking services, QQ and WeChat."
This isn’t the launch of the NFL’s efforts in China. NFL China was established in 2007 and has made overtures to the country through ambassadors in recent years, including Peyton Manning who joined Houston Rockets Hall of Famer Yao Ming in Shanghai last September. Ming, in turn, had a formal presence at February’s Super Bowl LI in Clutch City.
At that same Super Bowl, NFL China sought to educate fans through social education of the sport and enlisted Hong Kong entertainer William Chan to post to his 21 million Weibo followers updates throughout the game. While plans for him to attend fell through, he was able to provide commentary in prior to the game.
Additionally, earlier this year, Under Armour sent Tom Brady to Shanghai and Tokyo on a promotional tour, touting not just their brand, but the sport itself.
"The 2017 Tom Brady Asia Tour Powered by Under Armour begins in Beijing on Sunday, June 18, and includes visits to Shanghai and Tokyo over six days. At all stops, programming will be aimed at engaging fans and the public around the excitement of football and training for the sport, with a focus on recovery. Brady will take this opportunity to launch his Weibo account to engage with fans across China."
Such efforts ahead of today’s announcement appear to be paying off. Managing director for NFL China Richard Young told Reuters earlier this year that the NFL fan base in China has “grown 1,000 percent over the past five years.”