Broadcast of Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup reaches more than 280 million

Dubai, UAE, May 8, 2016:  Asia’s top table tennis players converged in Dubai for the Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup last weekend, 28-30 April. Taking place just 100 days before the start of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games, competition was intense as players fought to boost their world ranking positions before Olympic selections are finalised.   

The Dubai World Trade Centre venue reached full capacity on Friday and Saturday, with the UAE’s ping pong fans flocking to watch world-class table tennis players battle it out on court. The competition culminated in all-China finals in which men’s defending Asian Cup Champion, Xu Xin, and women’s World No. 1, Liu Shiwen, each claimed victory over their teammates and 2012 Olympic gold medallists, Zhang Jike and Li Xiaoxia. 

The Asian Table Tennis Union (ATTU) event was supported by the UAE Table Tennis Association and Dubai Sports Council, and delivered in collaboration with Falcon and Associates. 

Lagardère Sports was appointed as host broadcaster, having already been appointed to handle the international media rights, through a long term partnership with the ATTU. 
 
Eight live TV channels across three continents broadcast the tournament, reaching more than 280 million households. Lagardère Sports also operated the ITTF’s You Tube channel for all non-TV markets, creating a truly global platform for the event. 

The action was also followed closely on social media, with the two event hashtags, #asiancup and #2016ittfasiancup, together reaching more than 12.2 million people and sparking more than 6500 discussions on Weibo, China’s popular micro-blogging site. 

The popularity of table tennis as both a spectator and participation sport is growing fast in Dubai. Since 2013, when Dubai launched its sponsorship of the Chinese National Table Tennis Team, more than 20,000 people have participated in the emirate’s grass-roots initiative, Ping Pong Dubai. 

His Excellency Saeed Hareb, Secretary General of Dubai Sports Council, said: “We were delighted to once again welcome some of the world’s best table tennis players to Dubai. The Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup 2016 has been a tremendous addition to Dubai’s calendar of world-class sporting events and further strengthens the emirate’s position as a home for racquet sports. 

“At Dubai Sports Council, we understand the power of sport to unite cultures and Dubai has sponsored the Chinese National Table Tennis Team since 2013 – a sign of our strong links with China and commitment to supporting the growth of its national sport in the Middle East and around the world.” 

Dawoud Al Hajiri, President of UAE Table Tennis Association (UAETTA), added: ‘We are thrilled with the success of the Nakheel Table Tennis Asian Cup, which is the city’s third major table tennis tournament in the past two years, following the 2014 ITTF World Tour Grand Finals and the 2015 ITTF World Team Classic. Table tennis is gathering great momentum in the UAE and we are very excited about the potential for further developing the sport here.” 
 
Peter Angell, Senior Vice President of Media Production, Lagardère Sports said: ‘‘Table tennis remains at the pinnacle of sports interest in Asia, primarily because of the immense rivalry amongst East Asian nations. We saw a strong interest in live broadcast from multiple networks, as lead-in programming to the summer Olympic Games. 

“For Lagardère Sports to be entrusted with host broadcasting the sport that is aired live on CCTV in China is an honour, given their significant audiences that follows each Table Tennis event, not to mention the rest of the world. It has been also a pleasure working with the UAETTA, Dubai Sports Council, Dubai Sports Channel and our other local partners. We look forward to working together on many more sports events in Dubai in the future.’’

In addition, Lagardère Sports is also the worldwide media rights partner for the ATTU as well as the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF).