TOM.COM Secures Chinese Basketball Commercial Rights
TOM Subsidiary YC Advertising Partners with Starway
in China’s Basketball Promotion
Hong Kong, August 1, 2001 –- TOM.COM LIMITED (‘TOM.COM’ or ‘TOM’, stock code:
8001) announced today that its subsidiary, YCP Advertising (‘YC Advertising’), and partner
Starway Sport and Culture Development Co. Ltd (‘Starway’) have received confirmation from
the China National Sports Bureau of their securing the commercial rights for the Chinese
Basketball Association (CBA) League A games. The franchise will be for three CBA seasons
from 2001 to 2003. Terms under the franchise are being finalised. YC Advertising and Starway
will operate and market the CBA League in an effort to commercialise China’s basketball
development.
YC Advertising and Starway will together commit around US$5 million a year for the franchise
and its promotion. Backed by TOM’s cross-media platform, YC Advertising will apply its 10year sports marketing experience gained in China’s sports market in the CBA promotion,
complemented by Starway’s expertise and specialisation in the basketball field. This consortium
of partners are confident of elevating CBA’s international status and generating an attractive
return on investment.
The CBA exclusive commercial rights granted to TOM include rights to title sponsorship,
advertising, TV broadcasting, official sponsorship, usage of the League logo and images of
famous players. In addition, the franchise also covers the marketing rights of the official website,
promotional activities of the club officials and team players, official fan club and league
merchandise marketer rights. These different rights will enable sponsors to fully utilise
promotional opportunities offered by CBA.
TOM.COM Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director Sing Wang said, “This is a very
good opportunity for YC Advertising to prove its leadership in sports marketing. YC Advertising
has an extensive promotional network and strong sports marketing experience. The partnership
with Starway represents one of the best teams to promote the CBA franchise. TOM is dedicated
to playing a key role in China’s sports development and our unique cross-media platform will
help to cement our leading position in the sports marketing sector.”
Li Guangsheng, General Manager of YC Advertising, was excited about this partnership and said,
“YC Advertising has already established a leading position in the Mainland sports industry
through the owning of commercial rights to the National Table Tennis Tournament, National
Volleyball League, National Bowling Championship and Inter-College Soccer League. We are
committed to a long-term partnership with the CBA and to elevating Chinese basketball to the
next level.”
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Xia Song, Director and General Manager of Starway, said, “CBA has achieved a lot in just 6
years, positioned to become one of the top three international basketball leagues and the No. 1
league in Asia. Through exchanges with the NBA, the CBA has made significant progress and
we will build on this foundation to further elevate the league. The comprehensive promotional
plan we are working on will help the Chinese basketball industry to scale new heights and foster
the next generation of basketball superstars like Wang Zhizhi.”
CBA is very popular in China. With over 170 games held in over 10 cities across the country, the
audience attendance of the games averages over 86%. Total TV viewership for the CBA on
CCTV was around 450 million, with an average audience reach of 1.1%, higher than the 0.7%
average audience reach of the Football League for the same season. Statistics from the 2000-01
season show that the CBA enjoy extensive coverage in both electronic and print media. Last
season, CCTV broadcast live 34 CBA matches nationwide and 20 tape-recorded matches.
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Notes to Editors
About TOM.COM LIMITED
TOM.COM LIMITED (TOM) was founded in October 1999. TOM is a joint venture between
Hutchison Whampoa Ltd., Cheung Kong (Holdings) Ltd. and other strategic investors. TOM
was listed on the Growth Enterprise Market of the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in March
2000 (stock code: 8001). TOM’s head office is in Hong Kong, with regional offices in Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou and Kunming.
TOM has pioneered the cross media strategy, building a portfolio of online and offline media
assets through acquisitions and organic growth. TOM’s business now includes outdoor media
advertising, Kunming Fench Star Information Industry Ltd. (Fench Star) and Shanghai Maya
Cultural Transmission Company Ltd. (Shanghai Maya Cultural); sports event management and
advertising, YC Companies; print media, Yazhou Zhoukan, PC Home Publishing Group and
Cite Publishing Ltd. in Taiwan; online media businesses, CN TOM, HK TOM, 163.net,
Shawei.com; and broadband content and services provision, Shanghai Maya Online Broadband
Network Company Ltd. (Shanghai Maya Online) and GreaTOM.
About YCP Advertising Co. Ltd
YCP Advertising (YC Advertising) was founded by Guangdong Yang Cheng Evening Post. In
August 2000, TOM acquired a 70% equity interest in YC Advertising, transforming YC
Advertising to TOM’s flagship in China’s sports industry. As an independent sports event
management and cross media advertising company in Mainland China, YC Advertising has built
a strong network of over 600 print media and 300 TV/radio companies in over 200 cities. As
well as organising sports events, the company provides PR and promotion services, produces TV
advertisements, participates in TV sports programme production and builds brands and
corporate image for corporations in China. YC Advertising is positioned to be the No. 1 sport
events marketing company in China.
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The company has organised or participated numerous sports events, including the Philips InterCollege Soccer League (2000-2005), Bu Bu Gao National Volleyball League (2001-2004) and
Ericsson National Table Tennis Competition (1997-1999). “Sports Report”, its TV sports
programme records an average viewership of 50 million.
About Starway Sports and Culture Development Co. Ltd
Starway Sports and Culture Development Co. Ltd (‘Starway’) is the leading marketing company
in the Chinese basketball industry. The company has established close working relations with
government organisations at various levels, news agencies and media organisations. It has a close
working relationship with many Chinese basketball players and the League A basketball teams.
Xia Song, the Director and General Manager of the company, is the agent of famous basketball
star Wang Zhi Zhi. He facilitated Wang’s joining the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks Team. Starway has
rich experience in sports event planning, agency business and marketing promotion. With its
professional expertise and extensive business network, it provides clients with a wide range of
sports development services. Starway is actively seeking substantial business partners to raise the
operational standards of the Chinese sports industry.
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For press enquiries:
Rachel Chan, TOM Group Limited
Tel: (852) 2121 7810
Fax: (852) 2127 7576
E-mail: corp-comm@tomgroup.com
www.tomgroup.com
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