Climbing, a sport far less dominant than football or basketball, is beginning to develop similar revenue mechanisms through broadcasting rights. The International Federation of Sport Climbing -IFSC- has signed a deal with Bilibili, the Chinese streaming platform with more than 360 million monthly active users and over 100 million daily active users, to become the exclusive broadcaster of IFSC events in China through the end of the 2026 season.

In comparison, the IFSC had previously secured agreements of this kind with other platforms and TV networks. For instance, in 2022 the federation signed a three-year contract with Discovery Sports to broadcast all World Cup and World Championship events across Europe, including coverage on discovery+, the Eurosport app and the linear Eurosport channels. In May 2025, additional agreements were announced in the Americas and Asia with TV Azteca (Mexico), TV Globo (Brazil), China Central Television -CCTV- for mainland China, and other channels in Indonesia.

What the Bilibili deal means for the IFSC

The contract with Bilibili will cover all remaining IFSC events in 2025 as well as the full 2026 season, aiming to bring climbing to “hundreds of millions of viewers” in China and expand its audience further across Asia. The platform first tested its climbing broadcasts in July 2025 with the IFSC World Cup in Chamonix, France, before securing exclusive rights for the Lead World Cup held in Madrid.

Bilibili is one of China’s leading video communities, especially popular among Generation Z, and a major player in short-form video, live streaming and user-generated content. The agreement highlights a growing trend in which smaller sports monetize their appeal through digital platforms, reaching audiences that traditional broadcasters may have overlooked.

Growing audience and Chinese athletes

The federation has been seeking to diversify its media presence through partnerships with both traditional broadcasters and digital platforms. In this context, IFSC president Marco Scolaris underlined the potential of the new partnership: “The IFSC and climbing have a strong foundation in China with multiple major events held in the country, and China also shows many of the best athletes in the world: Bilibili will build further on these foundations.” He added: “Climbing is a growing sport with an ever-growing young and dynamic audience so a partnership with a social media platform like Bilibili makes perfect sense. The climbing appeal in China is high, and now Bilibili will make it even higher.”

The exclusive deal with Bilibili provides greater control over content distribution in China, opening the door to direct monetization through advertising, subscriptions, or partnerships with domestic brands keen to reach the platform’s young user base. It also strengthens the visibility of Chinese athletes as well as competitions that previously may not have been broadcast in this market.

The next event to be shown on Bilibili will be the IFSC Speed World Cup in Guiyang on Saturday, September 13, followed by the IFSC Climbing and Para Climbing World Championships in Seoul, starting on Friday, September 20.