Asia’s Top Sports Media Properties: ONE, CSL, IPL And The Continent’s Other Leaders – Forbes

Asia, a continent with a long history of importing its major professional sports, has really come into its own over the past decade when it comes to building athletic competition from within.  

ONE women’s atomweight champion Angela Lee (Image via ONE)

While most of the region’s favorite leagues, teams and players still come from Europe and the United States, a select group of organizations representing a variety of sports are beginning to emerge as real threats to their Western counterparts.

From domestic staples to entities with an international following, these are the top sports media properties in Asia today.

ONE Championship (ONE) 

Founded: 2011  

While its revenue is kept under wraps as a privately owned company, no Asian sports media property boasts the reach of ONE, which broadcasts to over one billion viewers in 118 countries, including all 48 in Asia.

Currently, the promotion is in year five of a 10-year media rights partnership with Fox Sports Asia (formerly ESPN Star Sports), the region’s top network for live sporting events. 

Though headquartered in Singapore, the Asian MMA leader has packed stadiums in seven different countries, with plans to enter three more of the continent’s biggest sports hubs (Japan, Korea, Vietnam) and continue its expansion throughout China in 2017. Its sold-out crowds of 20,000-plus in the Philippines match the highest attendance total recorded by the UFC domestically.

ONE’s widespread appeal and rapid growth has attracted no shortage of big-name sponsors including Fortune 500 companies Sony (#113 global ranking), Disney (#164) and LG Electronics (#180). Other sponsors include Marvel Entertainment, Under Armour, Monster Energy and Facebook.

The company’s most important partner, however, could be Singaporean national wealth fund Temasek Holdings, whose recent investment helped fast-track the promotion to a $1 billion valuation.

With respect to all of these factors, ONE has cemented itself as Asia’s largest sports media property.