Pac-12 Parnters With Letv Sports to Stream Live Events in China

The Pac-12 Conference and Letv Sports have established an expanded partnership. With the new agreement, Letv will become the official digital media partner of the Pac-12 Conference in China and live stream more than 200 live sporting events across four Pac-12 sports over this year and next.

Letv Sports will offer fans in China live access to 100 men’s basketball games, including regular season and Pac-12 Tournament games, as well as at least 24 football, women’s soccer and women’s basketball games this season and next. The 2015-16 Pac-12 season on Letv Sports launched on October 3 with the first regular season college football game ever to be streamed in China. Pac-12 football will continue to be streamed live every weekend through the end of November, and Pac-12 basketball will tip off on Letv Sports on November 15.

“We are excited to expand our partnership with Letv Sports and continue to showcase the best of Pac-12 teams and student-athletes in China,” said Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott. “Distributing our great Pac-12 Networks content to countries around the world is a growing priority as our universities continue to operate in a more globalized world.”

Pac-12 Networks will produce and televise the games in the U.S., and Letv Sports will make them available to its users on PCs, tablets, mobile devices, and Letv Super TVs, and distribute the games live through broadcasters and other third party platforms in China. In addition, Letv Sports will offer all users on its platform access to Pac-12 highlights and other programming to be consumed on demand. Last year, it streamed 27 Pac-12 men’s basketball games to fans in China, including the 2014 Pac-12 Tournament.

“Letv Sports is excited to expand collaboration with the Pac-12,” said Letv Sports CEO LEI Zhenjian. “Through the partnership between Letv Sports and Pac-12, we not only want to show the Chinese domestic audience the excitement of Pac-12 and NCAA basketball and football, but also want to provide more inspiration and successful examples to the Chinese domestic collegiate sports participants and administrators through our in-depth collaboration and exchange with U.S. collegiate sports.”

The expanded partnership represents another step forward in the Pac-12 Global Initiative. The initiative is an unprecedented effort to showcase the Pac-12 and its member institutions in China through student-athlete exchanges and sport. Since launching the initiative in 2011, the Pac-12 has sent men and women’s basketball teams, two women’s all-star volleyball teams, and a men’s basketball all-star team to China for exhibitions.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, the Pac-12 will stage the Pac-12 China Game presented by Alibaba Group in Shanghai between the University of Washington and the University of Texas, becoming the first major U.S. sports league, collegiate or professional, to host a regular season contest in China. The game will be broadcast live in the United States on ESPN on Friday night.