Sports

iQIYI Acquires Exclusive Streaming Rights to La Liga for Upcoming Season

Aug 16, 2019, 15:30pm2019/08/16 15:30:21 AJ Cortese

iQiyi<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Sports, a joint venture between Chinese online media streaming giant iQiyi and Super Sports Media, has acquired the exclusive streaming rights to Spain’s top football league, La Liga Santander, for the upcoming 2019/2020 season. In addition to live streaming all 380 matches of the season, iQIYI<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Sports will also produce and release original content including match information, match highlights and behind-the-scene footage.

La Liga has garnered significant interest from the Chinese football fan community, thanks in large part to the presence of two giants of world football, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid. In addition, Chinese fans will be excited about Chinese star striker Wu Lei, who recently moved to RCD Espanyol in a highly publicized transfer last January. The ex-Shanghai SIPG man has made a great impact since joining the Spanish side, scoring 3 league goals including the one that clinched qualification for the UEFA Europa League. Despite just turning 27, Wu Lei is Shanghai SIPG’s all-time leading goalscorer with 169 goals, and the second all-time leading goal scorer in the Chinese Super league with 102 goals. Currently the leading football icon of his generation, Chinese fans will be eager to watch him in his first full season in Spain’s top flight.

Yu Lingxiao, CEO of iQIYI<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Sports said, “iQIYI<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Sports’ goal is to maximize the value of sports entertainment by leveraging the content value of top sports tournaments and further enhance it through content promotion, marketing and membership services. We believe this integration between entertainment and sports is key to having iQIYI<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Sports become the industry’s leading sports entertainment service provider.“

iQIYI<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder /> Sports has been very ambitious, working to expand its content selection to include the Australian Open, Wimbledon Championships, UEFA Euro 2020 and various other popular sporting events. Leveraging iQiyi<img decoding="async" class="trade-card__loading" layout="fixed" height="50" width="50" src="https://assets.pandaily.com/uploads/2021/12/loading.png" placeholder />’s robust technological capabilities, matches will be streamed at 50 frames per second, providing its viewers with the optimal sports viewing experience regarding playback clarity and smoothness.

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