China TV, IMG To stage China Open tennis

　　Chinese state TV and IMG, the U.S. sports marketing firm, said Tuesday they will launch a joint venture to promote sports events by organizing the next China Open tennis tournament in October.

　　Releasing the first details of a 20-year agreement unveiled last July to promote and televise sports, IMG and China Central Television said other events will include U.S. major league football and baseball, polo, skating and martial arts.

　　The venture gives IMG a foothold in China's booming sports market, while gaining CCTV access to foreign skills and experience at promotion and marketing.

　　"Our ultimate goal is to bring the world's best sporting events and management to China, and to bring China's best sports and sports culture to the rest of the world," IMG's chairman and CEO, Ted Forstmann, said at a news conference.

　　This year's China Open, Asia's top tennis tournament, will move to the Olympic tennis center built for last year's Summer Games, the companies said in a joint statement.

　　IMG declined to disclose any financial details about the venture and the companies gave no details of planned football, baseball and other events.

　　IMG said it will help bring more sponsorships to Chinese sports events.

　　Fortsmann said he expects China's sports market to rival that of the United States in the next five years, though he did not say whether that meant in financial terms.

　　He played down the impact of the global financial crisis and swine flu on the venture, saying, "these things come and go."

　　IMG Sports Media says it is the world's largest independent producer of sports programming, operating in 30 countries with 2600 employees.

　　CCTV, China's national broadcaster, operates 17 channels including a 24-hour sports channel. The network says it commands an 80 percent share of China's TV sports viewership.