Alibaba have agreed a partnership with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to become the official “Cloud Services” and “E-Commerce Platform Services” Partner, as well as a Founding Partner of the Olympic Channel. The deal will see them have rights to every Olympic and Olympic Winter Game until 2028.
The release says that “The partnership will help contribute to a more efficient and secure staging of the Olympic Games. It will also expand opportunities to engage and connect with fans seeking official Olympic-licensed products and developing and customizing the Olympic Channel for a Chinese audience.” It’s the second part which is of most interest, Alibaba as connecting consumers with products is Alibaba’s bread and butter.
Alibaba is the first company to make a long-term commitment to the IOC through 2028 and the first Chinese company to commit to the Olympic Winter Games Beijing 2022.
In addition to providing value to the IOC and Olympics, this partnership also supports Alibaba’s global growth ambitions and its reputation as the leading provider of key digital services in China. And it expands the Chinese giant’s global footprint to meet its goal of reaching 2 billion consumers with its services by 2036.
Alibaba Group CEO Daniel Zhang said. “We will leverage our experience in serving a young user base to help connect more young people to the Olympic Movement, helping to strengthen our brand through this historic partnership.”
