Alibaba founder Jack Ma leads $128M investment in live-streaming sports site

LeTV Sports, an affiliate of online video portal and smart TV maker LeTV, has raised US$128 million in series A funding, according to TechNode. The investment was led by two of China’s most prominent billionaires, Alibaba founder and chairman Jack Ma and Wanda Group chairman Wang Jianlin. Each man invested via his private venture capital fund, Yunfeng Capital and Wanda Investment, respectively.

Fortune Link, Prometheus Capital, and several others also participated in the round. As a result, LeTV Sports has reached a valuation of RMB 2.8 billion (US$452 million).

LeTV Sports is an online video site that focuses on live streaming sports events. It started out as a part of LeTV’s flagship Hulu-like TV site before spinning off into its own entity in February last year. It claims to broadcast 4,000 matches of 12 different sports every year, including soccer, basketball, tennis, and golf. It has acquired exclusive rights to broadcast a handful of events.

LeTV has branched out into a wide range of verticals in recent months. Its hardware offerings expanded from smart TVs to other products including a just-released smartphone, an upcoming sports camera, a soon-to-be unveiled electric car. Meanwhile, it remains one of the top video sites in China for watching licensed TV shows and movies, battling tech giants like Youku, Tencent Video, and Baidu’s iQiyi and PPS.

Video wars

The company established a US$200 million film production fund and acquired a production studio for US$260 million to generate more exclusive content. It also launched a music company in March this year.

Jack Ma and Alibaba have shown an interest in sports prior to this investment. Alibaba yesterday announced a partnership to support the upcoming Pac-12 collegiate sports conference, in which China will host a basketball game between two American teams. Alibaba also purchased a 50 percent stake in one of China’s top national soccer teams for US$192 billion last year. The ecommerce giant has also taken a keen interest in amassing its own TV and movie content portfolio, inking deals with major studios and production companies around the world.

(Source: TechNode)