Features

Amid the chaos of Italian football, there is opportunity for those organisations that follow the rules.

The World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC) will this month stage the inaugural edition of its Premier12 tournament. Andy Fry reports.

Sports media continues to evolve bit-by-bit, creating new opportunities for those who understand the value of content and how to deliver it most effectively to the right audience at the right price.

Two British expats are on a mission to make America care about soccer, and they hope BlazerCon will make it happen. Owen Evans reports.

With the help of experts such as NetResult and Copyright Integrity International, Kevin Roberts gets an inside look at the challenges facing the internet police in the digital world.

Kevin Roberts looks at the increasingly influential role of the internet police and how they are equipping themselves to take on new enemies in the shape of Vine, Periscope and Meerkat in order to protect the lucrative deals of their broadcaster clients.

After a month of alleged insider-dealing scandals, state bans and federal investigations, Elisha Chauhan finds out whether it is game over for the multi-billion dollar fantasy sports industry, or if it is about to reach a whole new level.

As pay-television channel BoxNation prepares to expand globally, its competitor Fight Sports Network throws punches at its lack of resources. Elisha Chauhan reports.

Chung Moon-Jong's staying power, surfing's back-up plan, Red Bull F1 exit rumours, and more as SportBusiness International reports from the Leaders Sport Business Summit at Stamford Bridge.

Giants are emerging in the sports marketing landscape with multi-billion dollar agencies coming to the fore. Frank Dunne looks at how the arrival of the newly merged forces has affected the balance of power in the sports industry.

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Mailman Sport, SportBusiness International's partner on this report, outlines the social media landscape in China, with a summary of the top platforms and user behaviour patterns.

Understanding the local social media environment is no longer a luxury for companies operating in China – it is an imperative. By some measures, usage of Chinese social media is the most intense in the world. There are vital differences in the use of social media in China relative to the West which are vital to understand for any organisation or brand looking to penetrate the market.

Social networking has evolved differently in the middle kingdom than in Western societies. Forget the classic Western sites such as Facebook, Twitter or YouTube. These established networks have not been able to successfully expand in China due to strict state censorship. Being protected by this powerful barrier and without the influence of Western firms, localised networks have developed for the Chinese market.

The dominant social networking sites are Sina Weibo and WeChat. We look in detail at these and provide an inventory of other popular sites below. It is wise to remember that this guidance could soon change in such a dynamic market, with top dogs fading and young pups emerging seemingly overnight.

China tends to lag a year to 18 months behind Western social media trends. There are, for example, several competing Instagram-style networks, none of which has gained dominance. One to watch is Nice, a photo- sharing platform with Instagram-like features, which at the moment is untested by Western sports brands.