Jan. 15 (NBD) -- The General Administration of Sport of China and the National Bureau of Statistics of China jointly announced on Saturday that the country's sports industry reached 1.9 trillion yuan (294 billion U.S. dollars) in 2016, contributing to 0.9 percent of the country's GDP during the same period.

The data released during the National Sports Industry Conference in Xiamen also showed that the Chinese sports industry in 2016 achieved an added value of 674.5 billion yuan (104 billion U.S. dollars), up 17.8 percent year on year.

However, it should also noted that the sport industry in 2017 slowed down compared with 2016, in terms of both the number and the scale of investments.

Zhang Dazhong, CEO of Alibaba Sports Group (Alisports) acknowledged the decelerated growth of the sports industry in 2017, but said that Alisports has stuck to its established direction rather than blindly following suit. 

Company aims at clear objectives, eyeing e-sports expansion in 2nd- and 3rd- tier cities

When summarizing the industrial development in 2017, Zhang singled out the explosive growth of e-sports. He attached great importance to the definition that E-sports is real sports. Guided by such a notion, Alisports has made some headway in promoting e-sports to be included into the Olympic Games, Zhang added.

It is noteworthy that the 2nd World Electronic Sports Games (WESG), Asia Pacific Finals, was held on January 11 to 14 in Jiaozhou, east China's Shandong Province.

WESG, an e-sports tournament held by Alisports, features games like Counter Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, DOTA 2 and Starcraft II.

Zhang noted that Alisports in 2017 made a major move to build sports service units in cities. Cities eyed Alisports' strengths in the Internet industry, and in return, the company thought highly of the real "landing" of sports projects in those cities, Zhang further explained.

NBD noticed that relying on e-sports events, Alisports has forged a long-term cooperation with Changzhou, Suzhou, Jiaxing, Jiaozhou and other local governments.

According to data provided by Alisports, as of December 12, 2017, Alisports' service platform has offered to services to over 10 large and medium stadiums and 200 gyms in 60 Chinese cities, and become available on approximately 530,000 computer terminals in 7,532 e-sports venues or stadiums in over 20 provinces and cities.

From 2015 to 2016, leaders in the sports industry spent heavily on buying the copyright of well-known competitive video game events and acquiring overseas clubs, whereas Alisports, an industry leader as well, was marketing its own events in the second- and third- tier cities.

In fact, some industry insiders didn't view favorably Alisports' deployment in cities, believing that it was a reluctant action resulting from its late foray into the sector after intellectual property rights of famous games were bought out by its counterparts.

Zhang said that the company will continue to beef up its efforts in e-sports and campus sports which draw attention from young people and collaborate with local governments to construct stadiums and small sports towns.

Photo/WESG website

E-sports should first comply with Olympic values in order to get included

E-sports has already been added to the lineup for the Asian Games in 2022 in Hangzhou, China, which encouraged the pursuit of making it an Olympic event one day.

Last October, the IOC said in a statement after the meeting with Olympic stakeholders in Lausanne that competitive e-sports could be part of the Olympic experience as long as it adhered to Olympic values.

With professional events like LOL Pro League (LPL), King Pro League (KPL) and, LOL World Championship made a bit, some people thought that e-sports could do well without the recognition of the IOC.

Zhang disagreed to the idea, saying that e-sports is a sport, which he never doubted and the highest honor for a sport is to get on the stage of the Olympic Games. As long as e-sports stays out of the arena of the Olympic Games, it remains merely video games in most people's eyes, Zhang clarified.

With regard to the obstacles facing e-sports on its way to become an Olympic event, Zhang said that the most important thing is to guarantee compliance with the rules, regulations and values of the Olympic Games, which excludes violent games.

A good example is the game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds, which changed its setting theme to "military drill" from "the end of the world".

Zhang introduced that the just-concluded WESG, Asia Pacific Finals has attracted players from over 20 countries and regions, including several e-sports associations recognized by the IOC.

The company and others has gradually promote the inclusion of e-sports into sports associations in Europe in order to bring about fundamental changes to it, Zhang added.

Email: gaohan@nbd.com.cn