iQiyi Sports, a joint venture between Baidu-backed iQiyi and Super Sports Media, is teaming up with FC Barcelona to create a dedicated channel in China for the top-tier Spanish football club in the 2020/2021 season, the company said on Tuesday.
The FC Barcelona Official Channel will provide exclusive and non-exclusive video content including behind-the-scenes access, player challenges, training sessions and interviews, the statement said.
In August last year, iQiyi Sports acquired exclusive live streaming rights to Spain’s top football league, La Liga Santander, for the 2019/2020 season months after Chinese star player Wu Lei joined RCD Espanyol.
The news comes after England’s Premier League recently terminated a live coverage rights contract with iQiyi’s Chinese domestic rival PPTV.
Established in 2018, iQiyi Sports has developed into a multi-sports content platform focusing on major sports events for soccer, tennis, golf and even street dance.
– This article originally appeared on Caixin Global.