DDMC Fortis, the exclusive commercial partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), has today announced the official launch of the sales processes for media content and sponsorship rights for the AFC's national team and club competitions. The sales processes cover the rights cycle 2021 to 2024, which commences in September 2020 with the start of the AFC's qualification competition for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar.
Patrick Murphy, CEO of DDMC Fortis said: "The new rights cycle for the AFC's competitions offers an exceptional opportunity for content providers as well as global and Asian brands to join forces with Asia's number 1 sport and achieve unparalleled engagement with half of the world's football fan base. There are 1.2 billion football fans across Asia and by 2025, 60% of the global middle class will reside in Asia. Half of this growing and increasingly affluent group of consumers are football fans."
The new commercial packages offer an extraordinary range of innovative marketing and commercial opportunities. Murphy added, "Our objective for the next rights cycle is clear: to provide advanced, tailored solutions for media content, sponsorship and other commercial rights that will enable our partners to effectively reach and engage with this massive audience."
The AFC announced its landmark partnership with DDMC Fortis in June 2018, a decision that ushered in a new era for Asian football. Since then the AFC and DDMC Fortis have worked in close collaboration to develop new strategies and approaches to enhance and elevate the commercial positioning of the AFC's competitions.
Dato' Windsor John, AFC General Secretary commented: "The comprehensive rights available cover not only the AFC Asian Cup 2023 and the prestigious AFC qualification competition for the FIFA World Cup 2022 in Qatar – but also the AFC Women's Asian Cup, the AFC U23 Championship and a comprehensive range of age-group competitions.
"Asian club football continues to go from strength-to-strength, and the available rights include the pinnacle of Asian club football, the AFC Champions League, as well as the engagement and excitement of the AFC Cup. As the Asian football enters a new era, the AFC looks forward to working with DDMC Fortis to implement a new and innovative commercial programme."
The launch of the sales processes coincides with today's announcement by the AFC that China will host the AFC Asian Cup 2023.
The game is growing at a super-charged pace in China, with the AFC's accessible and premium football content a dominant feature in the TV broadcast landscape. Total audience reach across both club and national team competitions consistently exceeds 800 million viewers, while the 31 million viewers tuning into China's 2018 Asian Qualifier match against Iran, that year's most watched sporting event in China by far, highlight the significant underlying appeal of local content.
Asia's greatest tournament will engage the entire nation - nearly 20 cities have expressed interest to host matches in the AFC Asian Cup 2023, and with these games staged on home soil in peak viewing slots, already huge TV audiences in China for previous AFC Asian Cups can be expected to climb even further to record breaking levels.
Rentao Yi, Chairman of Wuhan DDMC Culture Co., Ltd. (DDMC Fortis' parent company), said: "We are delighted and proud to work jointly with the AFC and the DDMC group companies with a shared common vision to grow football in China. With the confirmation of the AFC Asian Cup 2023, DDMC Fortis, Super Sports and desports will work hand in hand with the goal of ensuring excellent results for Media and Sponsorship Partners and support the AFC in delivering the best AFC Asian Cup in history."
About DDMC Fortis DDMC Fortis is the exclusive commercial partner of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) for the rights cycles 2021-2024 and 2025-2028. A joint venture between leading sports marketing agency Fortis Sports and Chinese sports, media and entertainment company DDMC, DDMC Fortis is headquartered in Hong Kong and combines global football experience with in-depth Asian knowledge to bring a fresh, innovative approach to the continental game.
Contact:
Yu Hang , Executive Director
yuhang@ddmcfortis.com
+86 139 0109 2134
Dejah Meldem, EVP Marketing & Digital
dejah@ddmcfortis.com
+852 6205 6393
About DDMC Wuhan DDMC Culture Co., Ltd is a leading Chinese entertainment, sport and culture company listed on the main board of Shanghai Stock Exchange (stock code: SH. 600136). It is the first listed company being awarded the title of "National Sports Industry Demonstration Unit" in Hubei province and also the only private enterprise which owns the "TV Series Production License (Category A)" in Hubei province. Headquartered in Wuhan, the company has subsidiaries or offices in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Barcelona, Amsterdam, Manchester and Uzbekistan.
Contact:
Liu Dexin, PR Director
ddliu@ddmcgroup.cn +86 18602753503
About Super Sports Super Sports is a China market leader in the areas of sports content operations and sports media rights distribution, as well as in providing all-media broadcast services. With the ultimate aim of "Bringing Fans More Happiness", Super Sports' integrated sports broadcasting ecosystem brings first-class viewing experiences to sports fans in China via internet, TV, OTT, IPTV, mobile devices, etc.
Contact:
Karen Ye, Marketing Director
yerong@ssports.com +86 186 1153 7684
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