China’s SINA Secures Online Broadcasting Rights for European Soccer

SHANGHAI, August 10: SINA Corporation has picked up the
online broadcasting rights for China to English Premier League and Italian
Serie A soccer.

Starting from tomorrow, SINA’s
Broadband service will carry live, online coverage of all 1,140 English Premier
League matches for the next three seasons until 2010. Web users will be able to
subscribe on an annual, monthly and per-game basis at Rmb380 ($50), Rmb38 ($5)
and Rmb3.8 ($0.5), respectively. In addition, SINA Sport Channel will also
feature replays of the most exciting action plays on a free-of-charge basis.
The matches can also be viewed on pay TV in China, starting from tomorrow.

Separately, SINA has also
obtained the rights to provide live, online broadcast of the professional
Italian soccer league Serie A in China.

"We are delighted to be chosen the only online portal
in China to offer live broadcasting of both the English Premier League and the
Italian Serie A," said Tong Chen, the executive VP and chief editor of
SINA Corporation. "These two deals are not only a perfect complement to
our already strong offering of domestic and international sports events, but
also reaffirm SINA’s position as a preeminent online sports broadcaster in
China. Leveraging our unique advantages as a leading online portal and our
first-class video streaming technology, SINA is able to provide Chinese soccer
fans with enhanced multimedia experiences, integrating comprehensive sports
news coverage, timely commentaries and interactive sports communities.”