Slam dunk! Hupu scores big by combining sports and the Internet

Ti Gong

With most world sporting events suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak, Shanghai-based Hupu has seized on the chance to promote its Internet sports platform, which hosts sporting events and provides sports news, social networking and e-commerce.

Cheng Hang founded Hupu (Shanghai) Media Co in 2007, creating an ecosystem aimed at providing diversified services to people who love sports.

Among the company’s many activities, Hupu started “King of Underdogs” in 2016, a grassroots basketball league that invites amateur players to participate in games in dozens of domestic cities. The games are staged in the off-season of the National Basketball Association.

“We are determined to spread the footprint of 'King of Underdogs' all over the world and attract grassroots basketball players to step onto this stage,” the company said on its website. “Over 100 million core basketball fans can check out their favorite teams and see how they rank nationwide.”

A fervid basketball fan himself, Cheng did graduate study in mechanical engineering at Northwestern University in Chicago, home of the Chicago Bulls. He said the initial idea of setting up a Chinese online sports forum emerged because he wanted a place to discuss NBA games with fellow students.

"Many Chinese overseas students were eager to discuss basketball matches on English language sites, but there was still language barrier so, hoopChina was born in 2004," he said. 

Cheng recalled how he rented his first servers at a cost of US$260 and personally spent hours translating basketball-related information that wasn’t available at that time to domestic fans back home.

Now the forum and mobile application have more than 70 million registered users and 6 million daily visitors. 

"King of Underdogs" games resumed city-level competition earlier this year. It is also adopting new formats, like livestreaming and short videos, to spread enthusiasm beyond Hupu forum regulars.

At first, many overseas Chinese students joined the forum, which was then called “hoopChina.” Later, they were joined by domestic fans, especially after Chinese player Yao Ming joined the Houston Rockets and became a sports celebrity.

After receiving his doctorate, Cheng returned to Shanghai – his mind still on sports. He said interest in sports was taking off, the digital wave was just starting and more venture capital was available for those who wanted to start businesses.

The time was ripe.

"I chose to follow my gut feelings and build a sports company,” he said.

Ti Gong

His sports forum eventually attracted sportswear giants like Nike and Adidas as advertisers, and the forum gradually expanded to cover all manner of sports, including football, Formula One car racing and eSports.

Since the suspension of most games due to coronavirus, Cheng said the number of people visiting the online site has remained stable and discussions have evolved to topics beyond sports, like hot news issues and casual chitchat.

Like the athletes he admires, Cheng said the company's motto is always do better and taken on challenges even under trying circumstances.

"The spirit to always keep pushing forward is embodied in the company's culture, which is also at the core of sportsmanship,” he added. “Many of us were drawn to sports by that determined spirit in the first place."

In 2014, his company launched a separate e-commerce site called Shihuo to sell trendy gadgets and sports apparel.

Last year, Hupu received an investment of 1.26 billion yuan (US$182 million) from ByteDance, giving the owner of TikTok a 30 percent stake in the company.

ByteDance, an official global partner of the NBA, has co-produced NBA game videos in real time with Hupu.

Hupu also initiated China's largest sports investment fund, Arena Capital, which focuses on emerging companies, especially those in high-tech and Internet fields, in the Chinese sports industry.

One of Arena Capital's investment projects was "Smart Stadium," a plan to upgrade more than 1.5 million stadiums in China and equip them with digital equipment and cloud technologies.

In 2015, Hupu filed a prospectus for an initial public offer on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, seeing to raise about 420 million yuan but the listing application was withdrawn amid market concern over profit prospects.

Last year, the company revived its interest in going public. It is now aiming to list two or three affiliates or independent entities within the next two or three years. No timetable has been given.

Cheng recalled a situation years ago when he and a co-founder disagreed over a business decision when they were planning to launch a new sports-related project. The project went ahead without his day-to-day involvement.

The project proved successful and later grew into the independent e-commerce site Dewu, which focuses on fashion sports shoes and apparel. As a Hupu spin-off, it has received financing in the hundreds of thousands of dollars from venture capital firms like DST Global and Sequoia Capital.

"Maybe I am better off leaving decision-making to colleagues who are better versed in specific projects," he concluded.

Since then, Cheng has become more supportive of new business initiatives.

Other independent business entities followed as a result, such as a youth football player training school and home-brand apparel and sports gear.

"My most fulfilling moment is when I hear that people who were regarded as underdogs find their career and passion in sports and really thrive," Cheng said.

Hupu encouraged platform users to upload videos of basketball games last year, pledging a charitable donation of 3 yuan for every point scored. The money is being used to build sports facilities in eight rural elementary schools in impoverished areas of Yunnan Province.

Cheng said he always encourages employees to fully embrace challenges, reminding them that even dark horses can cross the finish line first.

"It's always exciting to see an underdog win an unexpected victory, rather than watching the strongest teams win titles over and over again,” he said. “That’s what attracts sports lovers the most."