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Alibaba’s Taobao to live stream Tencent’s Honour of Kings in rare partnership of China’s top tech giants

  • Taobao and Tencent are jointly launching an invitation-only video gaming competition, with the finals to be aired on Taobao Live next month
  • The move marks Taobao’s debut in the esports live-streaming sector, which has been dominated by Bilibili and Tencent-backed Huya and Douyu

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Boys playing Tencent’s Honour of Kings in a shopping mall in Handan, Hebei province. Photo: Reuters
Ann Caoin Shanghai

Alibaba Group Holding and Tencent Holdings are joining forces to promote their flagship brands in a rare collaboration between China’s two largest technology companies, as the local race to attract eyeballs online heats up amid a slowing economy.

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Alibaba’s e-commerce platform Taobao and Tencent’s hugely popular mobile game Honour of Kings are launching an invitation-only competition, with the finals to be broadcast on live-streaming service Taobao Live on August 5, according to a press release by Taobao and Tmall Group on Thursday.

Taobao, whose parent owns the South China Morning Post, said it is calling on “gamers from all walks of life” to start streaming on the platform.

The move marks Taobao’s debut in the esports live-streaming sector, which has been dominated by a handful of video platforms including Bilibili, as well as Tencent-backed Huya and Douyu.

An ad for a shopping event on Alibaba e-commerce platforms in Shanghai, China. Photo: Bloomberg
An ad for a shopping event on Alibaba e-commerce platforms in Shanghai, China. Photo: Bloomberg
Alibaba’s China commerce business, which accounts for a large part of the group’s total revenue, has suffered under weak retails sales nationwide. During the March quarter, sales in that segment fell 3 per cent year on year, Alibaba’s financial statements showed.
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In that same quarter, Tencent – operator of the world’s largest video gaming business by revenue – saw its domestic gaming sales rise 6 per cent, the Shenzhen-based company reported.
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