Alibaba To Broadcast U.S. College Sports In China

Alibaba has acquired the rights to broadcast Pac-12 sports games across China through 2024 as American universities aim to market their schools to more Chinese students.

The e-commerce giant has won the rights to broadcast games from the Pac-12 Conference, which includes Stanford, UC Berkeley, UCLA, USC, Arizona, Arizona State and Oregon, among other powerhouse sports programs.

The goal, said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott, “is growing interest in our universities overseas, and particularly in China. Sports play a valuable role in bringing exposure and interest.”

This is the first time a college sports network will be available in China. Pac-12 Networks started in 2012 and broadcasts domestically on one national and six regional television networks. The Pac-12 has 27,000 Chinese nationals currently enrolled, with 12,000 alumni living in China.

Alibaba will show 175 live events and 100 hours of original programming annually, some of it via Youku Tudou, also known as the YouTube of China. The slate of sports will include football, men’s basketball, women’s volleyball, gymnastics, swimming, lacrosse and beach volleyball, said the conference.

The financial terms of the deal weren’t disclosed. It also includes an extension of Alibaba’s sponsorship of the annual Pac-12 China Basketball Game through 2020. This year’s game pits UCLA against Georgia Tech on Nov. 11 in Shanghai.

The conference began its partnership with Alibaba two years ago as part of Pac-12 Global, which was designed to extend the reach of conference members through live events and enhance the student-athlete experience through sports and culture exchange.

Overall, the deal reflects the value that the global tech industry sees in diving into the sports arena. Recently, the Walt Disney Co. has had trouble reviving interest for its sports content on ESPN. At the same time, Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. Amazon is doubling down on rolling out sports streaming to its international audience.

Recently,the company struck a deal with the NFL, acquiring the rights to simulcast 11 "Thursday Night Football" games and making the feed available to users in nearly 200 countries.

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