TikTok Rival Kuaishou Technology Wins Broadcasting Rights for 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics
On June 23rd, Kuaishou, a Chinese short video company and rival of TikTok, held a strategic cooperation conference in Beijing with Voice of China, a state-owned company. Kuaishou obtained the rights to broadcast the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics on its short video platform.
Su Hua, Chief Executive Officer of Kuaishou, revealed that Kuaishou’s global monthly active users (MAUs) reached 1 billion.
After Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance, Kuaishou has become the fourth internet company whose MAUs exceeded 1 billion in China. Bolstered by the news, Kuaishou’s shares in Hong Kong jumped 6%, reaching HK $199.5, during market hours.
This cooperation means that during the Tokyo Olympic Games and Beijing Winter Olympics, Kuaishou will cooperate with Voice of China to launch several activities throughout the competitions to further promote the influence of sports in China.
Kuaishou has been actively engaged in the field of sports. In March this year, after Kuaishou reached a copyright agreement with CBA officials, users on the platform can not only watch official live broadcasts of CBA games, but also participate in the games, which significantly improved spectators’ engagement and enjoyment of the sport. According to sports statistics in Kuaishou, as of the end of this CBA season, one out of every 10 Kuaishou users has watched a live CBA broadcast.
Before this, Kuaishou had also reached a cooperation with this year’s Copa America, winning the rights for live broadcasts and short videos of the event in Chinese Mainland. Kuaishou has slowly become a well-known short video and live sports broadcaster in China. The cooperation between Kuaishou and Voice of China may change the traditional way of sports competitions in the media.
In February 2021, Kuaishou listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with an opening market value of about 180 billion US dollars. Up until now, Kuaishou has ranked fifth among Chinese internet companies after Tencent, Alibaba, Meituan and Pinduoduo.
However, since being on the market, Kuaishou’s stock price has ridden a roller coaster. Less than two weeks after its listing, its market value peaked at HK $1.7 trillion, and fell below 1 trillion two months later. Recently, its share price has hit a new low. The main reason may be the sharp rise in its expenses on sales, marketing, administration and R&D after going public.
