| Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Saturday, November 17, 2001 |
Feature: Commercialism Finds Its Way to National Games? |
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China's National Games, which used to totally lie on the lap of the government funding, is on its way to earn bread and butter on its own.
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China's National Games, which used to totally lie on the lap of the government funding, is on its way to earn bread and butter on its own.
The ongoing Ninth National Games has set a precedent in the history of the nationwide quadrennial event in turning the broadcasting rights sales into a money-spinner, incurring criticisms that the Games is "permeated with commercialism."
The total sales volume of 10 million yuan (about 125,000 U.S. dollars) serve as an offset to the host's input of 3.5 billion yuan (422 million U.S. dollars) in constructing and renovating 56 venues.
"Marketing is very necessary for such a grand-scale event," said Liu Qingzao, vice president of the center-host-city-Guagnzhou-based Yuexing company, which is authorized by the organizers to run the broadcasting sales of the current national games.
"Sports competitions themselves are valuable resources of the organizers, and one must pay to profit from them," Liu added. "This goes with the tide of deepening reform of the Chinese sports."
He said that the past practice of allowing the broadcasters to cover sporting events free of charge has become outdated as China is pursuing for a socialist market-oriented economy.
And the initiation of selling the broadcasting rights also aims to be a warm-up exercise for the 2008 Olympic Games, which will be staged in Beijing.
Mixed ReactionsWhen formulating the broadcasting prices, the host took into account the financial strength of different broadcasters, classifying them into four groups according to such factors as their annual ads revenue and ratings, and giving preferential treatment to those from less developed West China.
Apart from receiving the television feed signals from the host, the paying broadcasters also are entitled to be associated with such terms as "national games", and use the games' mascot and logo.
But being the first ever in the history of the Chinese sporting reporting, the rights sales have received strong complaints from some broadcasters, in particular those who are feeling the pinch of money.
The state-run National Public Radio, along with some television and radio stations from economically weak provinces, finally opted to cut the reporting staff or give up the coverage of such high-profile event.
But CCTV, the leading broadcaster in China, who paid a total of 4.50 million yuan (about 560,000 U.S. dollars for the rights, took the move for granted.
"It is a very natural thing for the organizers to sell the broadcasting rights," said Ma Guoli, director of CCTV's sports department. "This is in line with international practice. We began to buy broadcasting rights of the international events as early as ten years ago."
First StepThe host seemed to have been psychologically prepared for the possibility that the sales might keep some broadcasters out of the games.
"This is the first ever national games that sells its broadcasting rights. One has the right to buy or not and one does it on its own will," said Liu Qingzao.
But he admitted that as the first attempt of its kind, it is certain that the sales operation has room to be desired and improved.
"We did not have enough time to market the rights, and we failed to completely act according to the principles and rules of the market economy, so there are some regrets," he said.
CCTV director Ma Guoli said that it is certain that other big sporting events will follow suit in selling broadcasting rights, and the price to buy them will continue to go up. "But the most important thing for the organizers is to make sure that the operation is strictly in accordance with the international practice," stressed Ma.
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