Sky Sports snaps up Chinese Super League rights as it looks to strengthen its football coverage
Sky Sports has secured the rights to the Chinese Super League in a deal that will see the broadcaster show live matches from the Ping An Chinese Football Association Super League (CSL) over the course of the next three seasons.
Chinese Super League
The first match to be shown as part of the new partnership will be on Saturday 30 July when the Shanghai Shenhua face Jiangsu Suning.
The decision to start showing football from the league is unsurprising given the huge sums of money now flowing through the sport in China. This has subsequently attracted a number of high-profile names to the league, including Ramires, Obafemi Martins, Gervinho, Demba Ba, Jackson Martinez and recent signing from Southampton Graziano Pelle.
"This is more great news for football fans as we get set for our biggest ever season on Sky Sports," said Sky Sports head of football Gary Hughes.
"The Ping An Chinese Super League is attracting players from Europe and is creating a really exciting competition that will only add to an incredible line-up of live football on Sky Sports."
The new deal will strengthen Sky Sports’ football coverage and give it an additional marketing attribute over its rival BT Sport. Sky’s football coverage now includes the Premier League, La Liga and the Fifa 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
As part of its marketing for its football content Sky Sports recently launched a new ad starring David Beckham to promote its coverage of the upcoming season. The broadcaster also recently agreed sponsorship deals around its coverage after announcing new partnerships with Nissan and bet 365.