By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The marketing invasion of Euroleague in China continues, as the league presented its long term agreement with media giant HBN (Beijing Hualu Baina Film & TV Inc.). It’s the best way to make the top competition in Europe better known and loved by the countless basketball fans in China.
As Euroleague states in a press release: “Thursday’s ceremony formalized the 15-year, over €30-million agreement with Euroleague Basketball under which HBN will manage the rights of the Turkish Airlines Euroleague in China and further grow its reach and commercial opportunities in Asia’s biggest market.
The partnership calls for the creation of a new China-based company that will focus on enhancing Euroleague Basketball’s presence in the country through exchange plans, professional activities and grassroots programmes. The other emphasis will be strong investment to grow the Euroleague brand, to increase the exposure of its games on premium communication platforms, and to amplify commercial opportunities in the years to come.
“Since 2007, Asia has been the main priority of our global expansion strategy to share the values of European basketball with our Asian fans,” Jordi Bertomeu, President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said. “Today we start a new adventure in China, and we could not have a better companion for it than HBN. They have been truly enthusiastic since the very beginning and share our same vision and goals, which will no doubt lead us to successful results.”
“As we all know, Euroleague Basketball is the highest level of basketball competition in Europe, which gathers a number of strong teams which we are very familiar with, such as Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Olympiacos Piraeus, CSKA Moscow and many others,” Runsheng Chen, Chairman of Beijing Hualu Baina Film & TV Inc. said. “We believe that with the help of the innovative cooperation between HBN and Euroleague Basketball, as well as our joint effort in the future, the influence and the brand value of Euroleague Basketball in the Chinese market is bound to be significantly improved.
Over nine years of efforts in Asia, several of Europe’s most famous basketball clubs – CSKA Moscow, Alba Berlin, Real Madrid, Panathinaikos Athens and FC Barcelona – have played games there, but the relationship has reached beyond those exhibitions to build on the many similarities between Asian and European basketball. The Chinese junior national team has competed in the Euroleague’s International Junior Tournament; a coaches exchange has brought coaches from Asia to work with Euroleague teams; Chinese delegations have attended the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four on several occasions; clinics have brought coaches and other professionals to Asia; and a Euroleague Summer Camp with more than 280 boys and girls was a huge success. That’s not to mention One Team community activities that were held at every stop along the way with the participation of Euroleague stars dedicating time for life-skills sessions with underprivileged children in places like Beijing and Hangzhou.
The building of bridges between European and Asian basketball will grow with the new agreement, for which commonly-set targets are to be set over five-year periods. Exposure is expected to increase by adding on existing and past communications partners, including: CCTV, LETV, Chongqing TV, Guangdong TV Sports, Liaoning TV Sports, Guangzhou TV Competition, Shenzhen TV Sports and Xinjiang TV. Partner HBN will also contribute to expand the Euroleague’s reach across its wide media networks, which have a measured value of €2.93 billion”.