8/02/2008

20-year sports deal between IMG, China

Chinese state television and U.S. sports marketing giant IMG announced a 20-year partnership yesterday to produce and broadcast sports in China.

The deal, unveiled ahead of the Aug. 8 start of the Beijing Olympics, comes as Chinese and foreign broadcasters and promoters race to tap into China's increasingly lucrative sports market.

The new venture, CCTV-IMG Sports Management Co., will produce live sporting events and television and multimedia programming, the companies said yesterday in a statement. No financial information or details of planned sports events were released.

IMG Sports Media says it is the world's largest independent producer of sports programming.

CCTV, China's national broadcaster, operates 17 channels including a 24-hour sports channel. The network says it commands an 80 per cent share of China's TV sports viewership.

(the star.com)

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