The New England Patriots are launching two original TV series in China, one starring quarterback Tom Brady.
The shows represent the first time an NFL franchise has launched an original series specifically tailored to the world’s largest consumer market.
One show, called Foxborough TV, is designed to engage existing Patriots and NFL fans in China, while inspiring new generations of young fans and even players. There will be a total of eight episodes, published on select weeks during the 2018 NFL season. Each episode includes game previews and reviews, a Patriots legend feature and broadcasts surrounding unique local fan stories.
The first episode of Foxborough TV starred Brady and was broadcast exclusively on all of the team’s social channels in China, Weibo and WeChat, and on the Tencent Sports website. Highlight clips from the episode were aired during Tencent’s prime-time game broadcast on Monday, Sept. 24 featuring the Patriots and Lions.
The second show, called the Tom Brady China Show, is a monthly video series that will extend into December. Brady will spend 15 minutes each month filming a 15-minute video exclusively for the country. Each episode will comprise of four to five segments, with Brady interviewing a teammate, demonstrating principles and training methods, and answering questions from fans in China.
This media push comes as the league works to expand interest in China. The NFL partnered with Tencent last year to livestream games across Tencent’s mobile properties, which includes its social networking services, QQ and WeChat. Over this past offseason, the NFL sent Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson to Shanghai for a high-profile meeting with Amazon.com rival Alibaba. While in China, Wilson launched an NFL-branded flag football league in an attempt to get teenagers interested in the game.
In a statement, the Patriots also said they see China as an important market for the club’s international expansion. China is the No. 1 international market for the franchise, ahead of Brazil, Mexico and Germany.
“This initiative highlights the foresight of the Patriots’ organization,” said Richard Young, NFL China managing director. “Creating a custom weekly program for their growing Chinese fan base further displays the extra effort they are making for their fans here.”
Fred Kirsch, New England Patriots publisher and vice president of content, said the organization has been seeing a “growing number of dedicated fans in China.”
“We want to ensure we repay their enthusiasm by providing them with high quality exclusive content and premium access to star player,” he said. “Furthermore, it gives the Patriots a stronger foothold in China while opening up more opportunities for the franchise to grow.”
SportTechie Takeaway
Digital and social media are allowing sports leagues and teams around the world to expand their global fan bases. Following the lead of the NBA, which has a huge presence in China, the NFL is turning its attention to the country as its next international growth market—and it’s partnering with some of the country’s biggest digital powerhouses to do that. China, meanwhile, has been clear that it’s interested in investing in sports. Chinese brands had a large presence at this year’s World Cup in Russia, even though the Chinese national team failed to qualify for the month-long tournament.