The NHL has partnered with the popular short-form video network TikTok to expand its reach and engage fans in China.
The league will officially launch on digital platforms Douyin (known internationally as TikTok) and Jinri Toutiao, both owned by Chinese internet technology company ByteDance.
TikTok is one of the most downloaded apps in the world right now, with users typically sharing 15-second videos that they overlay with some kind of music from the app’s recent acquisition of Musical.ly. The other platform involved, Jinri Toutiao, is a news aggregator with more than 700 million users in and around China.
“It’s important for us to see more people in China becoming interested in hockey,” said David Proper, the NHL’s executive vice president of media and international strategy. “By launching on Douyin and Toutiao, we plan to offer additional entertaining and localized content for all hockey and winter sports fans.”
The NHL has been working to expand its social media presence in China. Over the past 12 months, it has gained more than 500,000 followers on popular microblogging platform Weibo, which the league said marks the fastest growth for a U.S. sports league after the NBA.
The NFL and MLB have also recently worked to expand their presence in China. The NFL has partnered with Alibaba’s Youku to bring highlights and documentaries to Chinese fans, while MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred told SportTechie recently that China was a priority. The NBA has content deals with both Alibaba and Tencent; Alibaba hosts highlights, classic games and original programming while Tencent has the exclusive rights to stream live NBA games, including League Pass. NHL games are also available on broadcast TV via CCTV5+.
The NHL’s expansion in China means that its content now lives on four different digital platforms there, including already active accounts on WeChat and Weibo.
The NHL has held four preseason games in China over the last two years. In 2017, the Los Angeles Kings and Vancouver Canucks played games in Shanghai and Beijing. In 2018, the Boston Bruins and Calgary Flames competed in Shenzhen and Beijing.
The hockey league said it is also cognizant of the fact that the 2022 Winter Olympics will be held in Beijing. It is hoping to leverage the excitement around winter sports to grow its presence and get new youth and amateur players interested in the sport.