Two-Year Old Property to Host Games in Three Continents Including Asia, North America and Australia
Global Audience Expected to Reach One Billion Households Worldwide
HONG KONG, (March 10, 2015) – Letv Sports, RSE Ventures, Relevent Sports and Catalyst Media Group announced today that they have joined forces to bring the International Champions Cup to China.
The tournament has already been played in the United States and Canada in 2013 & 2014, and this year the ICC will be contested across three continents. 2015 marks the ICC’s expansion into Asia-Pacific, with parallel tournaments running in North America, Australia and now China.
The line-up for ICC Australia has already been announced, with Real Madrid CF, Manchester City and AS Roma confirmed for a three-match round robin at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground.
ICC China will be run in late July, with the line-up to be announced soon.
Mr. Zhenjian Lei, CEO of Letv Sports said:
“We are delighted to partner with RSE Ventures, Relevent Sports and Catalyst Media Group to bring the International Champions Cup to China. We are looking forward to showing our audience the excitement of the tournament this summer. Letv Sports will continue focusing on bringing more top-tier events to China and expect more cooperation with international partners.
Matt Higgins, CEO of RSE Ventures said:
“The International Champions Cup is a truly global property, spanning three continents and featuring the most prestigious soccer clubs in the world,” said Matt Higgins, CEO of RSE Ventures, the sports, entertainment and technology company co-founded by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross. “We are proud of the rapid growth of the tournament and look forward to delivering the best in-venue experience and television broadcasts to fans, not only in China, Australia and North America, but across the globe.”
David Tyler, President of Relevent Sports said:
“Relevent Sports is proud to bring the best football teams in the world to the most iconic venues across the globe,” said David Tyler, President of Relevent Sports. “After hosting the largest game ever in the United States last year with over 100,000 fans at the University of Michigan for Manchester United v. Real Madrid, we look forward to announcing our strongest field yet in both China and North America.”
Patrick Murphy, CEO of Catalyst Media Group said:
“We are delighted to partner with Letv Sports to stage the International Champions Cup in China, the largest football market in the world. We look forward to bringing world-class football action to Chinese football fans who are amongst the most passionate in the world, as well as to a huge global audience through worldwide media distribution.”
The ICC is a major international event, organised world-wide by RSE Ventures, and will be broadcast to more than 200 countries around the world. Today’s announcement presents an exciting opportunity to experience the electrifying atmosphere of world class club football here in China.
— END –
About RSE Ventures
Founded in 2012 by Stephen M. Ross and Matt Higgins, RSE Ventures operates in four interrelated verticals: Sports, Entertainment, Digital, and New Ventures. The company’s growing roster of companies, venues and events includes the NFL's Miami Dolphins, Sun Life Stadium, Relevent Sports and Ascendent Sports & Entertainment
About LeTV
Letv Sports is a user-centric sports service provider that possesses a “sports-geek spirit”. By providing sports Live content and the unique eco-system to users across PC, mobile devices and smart TV, Letv sports currently has 14 million DVV, with 3.5 millions DUV and 30 millions MUV.
Letv Sports is a subsidiary of Letv Holdings, whose businesses spans from Internet TV, video production and distribution, smart gadgets and large-screen applications to e-commerce, eco-agriculture and Internet-linked super-electric cars, which announced in late 2014.
About Relevent Sports
Relevent Sports brings the excitement and intensity of international soccer across the globe by showcasing the best clubs in the world through premier tournaments and events. Going beyond the game, Relevent provides an innovative approach to building international soccer presence by utilizing brand development, grassroots planning, corporate sponsors, international touring and philanthropic initiatives for the soccer organizations.
About Catalyst Media Group
Catalyst Media Group Ltd. is a Hong Kong based company that acquires, creates and develops international and Asian sports and entertainment properties.
The company was established by its founder Patrick Murphy in response to the growing demand for high quality sports and entertainment content in the Asia Pacific region.
About the International Champions Cup
In the summer of 2013, Relevent Sports revolutionised the international soccer landscape by
organising the inaugural International Champions Cup, an innovative transformation of the traditional European club pre-season tours into a competitive tournament.
The inaugural edition featured eight top clubs – Real Madrid, Juventus, Chelsea, Inter Milan, AC Milan, Valencia, Everton and L.A. Galaxy – structured as two groups of four in a round-robin format. In 2013, the competition culminated with a spectacular final in Miami won by Real Madrid over Chelsea (3-1) in front of nearly 70,000 fans.
While the first tournament was played in six US cities and one European city, 13 cities across the
United States and Canada hosted it in 2014. Featuring another star-studded lineup with European powerhouses including Manchester City, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Liverpool, AC Milan, Roma, Inter Milan and Olympiacos, the 2014 format consisted of two groups of four in a round-robin format. The tournament included the highest attended soccer game ever in the United States with over 100,000 fans in attendance to witness Manchester United beat Real Madrid at the University of Michigan and concluded with a Manchester United championship game victory over their English rivals Liverpool.
More than 631,000 fans attended in 2014, with a global audience of over 80 million tuning in from over 150 countries to watch.