IDG backs Chinese sports video streaming service

IQiyi Sports was established in July as a joint venture between iQiyi and Super Sports Media, which holds the Chinese broadcast rights to sporting events such as the English Premier League (EPL). Two IDG funds held stakes in Super Sports Media until July 2017 when it was acquired by DDMC Group. A year earlier, there was a failed attempt to list the business in Hong Kong through a reverse merger.

As part of the joint venture, the Super Sports Media app has been renamed iQiyi Sports. The aim is to provide a wide range of livestreamed content by pooling the two companies' broadcast rights across football, tennis, and golf. Tennis coverage will include the ATP and WTA tours and the Australian Open, while iQiyi Sports will show the soon-to-launch UEFA Nations League, as well as the EPL, in its football program.

However, Super Sports Media only has the EPL rights to the end of the 2018-2019 season. It was outbid for the three-year contract from 2019 by Suning, a domestic electronics retailer. Suning, which owns streaming platform PPTV, recently raised a $600 million Series A round led by Goldman Sachs and Alibaba Group for its sports division. The company holds the rights to the top-flight football in England, Spain, Italy, Germany, and France.

IDG has put in RMB400 million for a 13.33% equity stake in iQiyi Sports, while Huiying contributed RMB100 million for a 3.33% interest, according to a statement. Jianguang Li, a partner at IDG, said that the combination of Super Sports Media's operating expertise and iQiyi's user traffic and advertising network should result in a strong business.

Launched by Baidu in 2010, iQiyi has 60.1 million subscribers and more than 845 million monthly active users across mobile and PC-based platforms, although there is likely a lot of crossover between the two. The company raised $2.25 billion in its IPO in March. Baidu retains a controlling stake, with Xiaomi Ventures and Hillhouse Capital among the minority investors.

Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent Holdings are all seeking to leverage media and entertainment content, including sports, to engage with consumers more effectively – driving demand for their core products but also diversifying their businesses by opening up new revenue streams. Suning and real estate developer Wanda Group are among the non-technology players pursuing a similar strategy.

IDG has made several other sports-related investments as well, backing the likes of sports marketing business Shankai Sports, kickboxing promoter Kunlun Fight, and French football club Olympique Lyonnais.

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• Topics
• Greater China
• Early-stage
• Media
• Technology
• China
• IDG Capital Partners
• TMT