MANCHESTER, England--(BUSINESS WIRE)--(NYSE:MANU) Manchester United has today announced a ground breaking deal with Sina Sports, the number one digital media platform for sports fans in China. As part of the deal, Sina Sports has secured exclusive rights to broadcast the Club’s dedicated 24-hour MUTV channel, allowing United’s 108 million Chinese followers unprecedented, behind-the-scenes access to the Club.
Sina Sports will make MUTV programming available across the full spectrum of its digital platform, which includes its website, mobile site, and mobile app, giving fans greater flexibility on how they follow their favourite club.
MUTV programming includes full, As-Live coverage and highlights of all Manchester United Premier League and UEFA matches, coverage of First Team Manager Louis van Gaal’s weekly press conference, and pre-match build up with club legends. In addition, MUTV gives fans exclusive interviews with team management, coaching staff and first team players, as well as documentaries, club news and much more.
Manchester United Group Managing Director, Richard Arnold, comments:
“This is an important and exciting partnership, not only for Manchester United but also for our Chinese fans. The Club works tirelessly on new and innovate ways in which we can engage with our fans and this is a classic example of how our commercial partnerships allow us to do this.
“MUTV broadcasting in China is not only a first for Manchester United, but also a first for any 24/7 dedicated Premier League club channel. We couldn’t have found a better partner to work with on this than Sina Sports.”
Arthur Wei, Sina Senior Vice President and GM of Sina Sports comments:
“This partnership is a great example of the vision we have to provide Chinese fans with more and more diversified, deeper sports content. Manchester United has deservedly won over 100 million fans in China and we are excited to see how the Club will grow its following through this historic launch. We anticipate this will make great strides to change the way China watches and understands the game of football.”
ENDS
About Manchester United
Manchester United is one of the most popular and successful sports teams in the world, playing one of the most popular spectator sports on Earth. Through our 138-year heritage we have won 62 trophies, enabling us to develop the world’s leading sports brand and a global community of 659 million followers. Our large, passionate community provides Manchester United with a worldwide platform to generate significant revenue from multiple sources, including sponsorship, merchandising, product licensing, new media & mobile, broadcasting and match day.
About MUTV
MUTV is the official channel of the Manchester United Club. It first aired on September 10th, 1998. The channel provides Manchester United fans with exclusive access to first team players, management and coaching staff as well insightful documentaries, historical games and pre and post-match analysis. In July 2014, MUTV’s high definition online channel was launched in the UK and Ireland.
About SINA Sports
SINA Sports is the number one destination for sports fans in China. Established in 1998, SINA Sports was the first ever online sports platform in China. We offer fans a diversified platform to access the sports news and games they care about, including on the web (sports.sina.com.cn), via mobile, and on the SINA Sports App. Our licensing portfolio consists of over 90 sports properties including the European Champions League, English Premier League, AFC Champions League, WTA Zhuhai, NFL, PGA tour, etc. We are truly the place that sports fans in China seek to not only watch sports matches, but continue the conversation and access sports news well after the matches are done.
