We reach this weekend with The Masters here, the NBA and NHL Playoffs getting started, MLB now beginning to move along, March Madness completed, even the Frozen Four to take a peek at, but two other stories on the business side that could subtly, for now, have an impact on global sport and the development of fandom in North America registered a bit, but are worth following. No they weren’t esports or gaming or even gambling; one had to do with the WNBA Draft, the other with the signing of a tire brand. What do they have in common? Toe dips further tying China and the North American sports scene.
The first of note is on the court, where the WNBA’s move to watch involved the New York Liberty drafting Han Xu and the Atlanta Dream taking Li Yueru, the first Chinese players taken in the draft in 22 years. While some may look the other way and not see what this could mean, the fact that Alibaba co-founder Joe Tsai now owns the Liberty and is making a significant investment in American sport (the Brooklyn Nets, the NLL San Diego Seals and now the Liberty) makes this something to watch really closely. There is no secret that basketball, along with soccer and hockey, have been made priorities in global growth by the Chinese government. The NBA is lightyears ahead of every other sport in having sold roots planted from a business standpoint in China, we are entering another Olympic cycle, the men’s World Championships are in China this summer , and the interest in prioritizing women’s and girls’ sports in Asia is ramping up. Bringing these two elite athletes not to America; in marketplaces that can have impact in media, brands and on the grassroots, has great potential for the business of the WNBA and for being a test case for how new Chinese native companies can engage in American sport in a cost effective way before testing the big dollar waters on the NBA. Tsai had some interesting things to say, and he rarely speaks publicly, in the South China Morning Post this week about the value Han will bring to the Liberty, and how it can impact sport.
Now is the WNBA on the radar like the NBA is with casual fans? Not always. Do the Liberty need to figure out there business model better after years of being under the umbrella of Madison Square Garden? Yes. Does having a deep pocketed multi-sport owner in Tsai mean something really intriguing for the Liberty? For sure. With the Chinese National team coming to the New York area for an exhibition against the Liberty in May, let’s see what the turnout and buzz will be. It certainly will be worth watching, both on and off the court.
Also this week came a seemingly mundane announcement between Tampa Bay Sports & Entertainment and China-based Linglong Tires. It was touted as the first between an NHL team (the Tampa Bay Lightning) and a Chinese corporation, and also had some extensions into college sports, as the brand would become the official tire of The University of South Florida Athletics and have a prominent place at USF football games. (Linglong has other sports related deals, most notably with Juventus).
While it’s always nice to be first, and who knows what kind of retail position this could mean for a brand in a very crowded tire market (which has more than its share of Asian brands already in the U.S. and married to sports marketing), why else is this significant? Some thoughts.
The NHL is strategically pushing to develop the Chinese market, but it has been a difficult task. Like the NBA, the NHL is looking to put down business roots in China, so this bringing of a Chinese commercial brand to the U.S. with a look to ROI is a positive bellwether for the potential value of hockey to the country and to consumers. As mentioned earlier with the 2022 Winter Olympics heading to China, President Xi Jinping has made a directive to local Beijing schools to develop ice hockey programs so that the country, as has happened with previous Olympic cycles, can have both a strong understanding and at least a passable success rate in a sport which is still, literally, foreign to most of the country. The best way to do that, outside of the infusion of dollars for hockey infrastructure, is to tie commercial brands to the game, and this is a first step.
The hope is apparently that the Lightning – coming off their historic season – can become brand team that makes inroads into the continent, although others in areas where there is also a big Chinese consumer market…LA, Toronto, New York, San Jose and Vancouver…could also be a good next step.
The other side of this that is intriguing is the joint tie to USF. The Bulls sit in a market without an NBA team, so to use this brand tie for both football and basketball can also be an interesting case study into the acceptance level on the commercial side of a Chinese company into the college market can be. We have seen how the Pac 12 Conference has looked to China for commercial market growth; can the Tampa market, with South Florida being a linchpin, also open up opportunities from student recruitment to brand sales, not just for the school but for a disruptive conference like the American Athletic? It will be interesting to follow.
Now the infatuation with sports business and China is not new; it comes in fits and starts and is still tightly controlled by governmental forces, who sometimes push and infuse cash quickly, and sometimes pull back with little warning. It is still very much an insider’s game, with lots of probing and sometimes frustrating results for those who think that a window is wide open, when in reality it is still just showing a small crack.
Still these two moves, one with a brand, one with a known influencer and quiet powerbroker (Tsai) in an area…basketball…which is solid and mature, are ones to watch as we don’t just think, but act more global in sports business going forward. Tires and women’s hoops making for a strange pair? At first look maybe so, but then again there have been stranger pairings that have changed the landscape before.
