International Canoe Federation Extends Chinese Broadcasting Deal
May 3, 2022
The International Canoe Federation has extended its partnership with China’s number one streaming platform, guaranteeing the sport a presence in the region until after the 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
The deal with Huya will run until December 2024, extending an arrangement which has already taken canoe sports into millions of Chinese households.
The ICF will extend its four-year partnership with Lausanne-based H&A Media, who will continue to manage the platform’s broadcast of major international slalom and flatwater canoeing events, with the support of the Chinese Canoe Association.
“China is a very important market for the ICF, and we were thrilled to have record-breaking audience figures in the China market for coverage of canoe and kayak events at Tokyo 2020,” said ICF Digital and Marketing Manager, Adam Collins.
“It is essential we have continued strong media visibility to build on this momentum as we embark on the next Olympic cycle.
“In 2019, half of ICF’s main televised events took place in China, and a good showing of strong Chinese paddlers helped us achieve 30.1 million viewers across six events broadcast on Huya. In 2021, despite no events taking place in China and virtually no Chinese paddlers, we still attracted 11.52 million viewers on the platform.
In 2021 931,369 Chinese viewers turned to Huya to watch sprint paddler Zhang Dong qualify for the Tokyo Olympic Games.
“The data and audience feedback over the past three years gives us confidence that Huya as a youth-orientated digital platform, will help drive audiences for our sport,” Collins said.
“Live-streaming offers immediate and accurate audience feedback on the popularity of international sports properties into the China market,” H&A Media Managing Director Guy Horne said.
“Between our Lausanne and Beijing teams, Huya TV and ICF event organisers, we have created a model which is generating long-term growth for canoeing.”
