Letv Sports Acquires Exclusive Broadcasting Rights of the English Premier League for the Next Three Seasons

BANGALORE and BEIJING, October 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

- Emerges as 'The Unicorn Company in Chinese Sports Market' 

- Sports Fans can Simultaneously Access Content, Events, Innovative Sports Devices and Value Added Services Under One Roof 

During the past year, the sports industry in China, especially for sports companies, has been changing significantly. Valued at USD 3 billion, Letv Sports has emerged as a unicorn in the China market. The company also recently acquired exclusive broadcasting rights of the English Premier League in Hong Kong for the next three seasons, starting 2016. This marks the world's first example of the exclusive broadcasting rights of the Premier League being granted to an Internet company in a region.

India has begun to look into sports including football with renewed focus. As per Indian Super League (ISL) statistics, a staggering one million fans thronged stadia across the country to watch the ongoing ISL inaugural season in November last year. This clearly shows the growing need of fans to witness sports in India.

With an interest in the Indian market; Letv Group is one of the leading video-streaming companies in China. The main businesses of Letv include online video-streaming, filmmaking, consumer electronics, applications, e-commerce and agriculture.

Supported by the strong Letv Group, Letv Sports is the fastest growing sports company in China. Letv Sports is composed of four key sections: content, event management, smart hardware, and value-added service.

In terms of content, Letv acquired the content rights to almost all major games around the globe, ranging from football, basketball, tennis, badminton, boxing, cycling, marathon to Formula 1 and golf. Letv Sports' various platforms are the best guarantee of its content distribution and penetration. Apart from its official website and its apps on mobile devices, it also has its own UI (User Interface) on Letv branded set-top-box, smart TV and smart Phones. Letv holds the live streaming rights of UEFA Champions League, Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, Chinese Super League, J-League, K-League, A-League, MLS, Copa America etc.

Regarding event management, Letv Sports is providing comprehensive services, including ticketing, marketing, sponsorship, media rights, hospitality and merchandising. The operation of football's 2015 International Championship Cup China epitomizes Letv Sports' ambition and ability. Letv Sports is also the exclusive operation partner of Chinese Women Super League.

Concerning smart hardware, Letv Sports shows its strength as a leading technology company. In September, Letv Sports offered fans a choice of daily sport in the technology era. Letv launched three models of smart bikes, which came with a variety of smart features including route mapping, speed tracking, and light signals. Other unique features included fingerprint identification, a smart lock, GPS, and a push-to-talk, two-way radio for communicating with other riders nearby. Letv has even set up a deal with music streaming service Xiami that will allow riders to stream music that's synced to their pedalling cadence.

As for value-added service, Letv Sports is creating lottery, e-commerce, O2O training services to its sports-driven fans, which highlights the mission of Letv Sports: Keep changing the sports lifestyle.

About Letv:  

Letv is a listed company in China. Headquartered in Beijing, this 11-year-old company has grown into a full-fledged multinational with a wide range of products including smart phones, smart TVs, smart electric vehicles, movies and TV shows and sports events.

It is China's first company to pioneer the concept of "ecosystem" products. Letv has China's largest content library, including movies, TV dramas, entertainment shows, concerts, and sports games, which could be viewed on Letv's terminals, like phones, TVs and electric vehicles, and these terminals could be interacted through Letv's eco-network.

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Sandeep Deb Varman
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Genesis Burson-Marsteller