(Yicai Global) Feb. 21 -- Ant Group said it has partnered with the National Basketball Association of North America to launch an NBA fan channel on the Chinese fintech giant’s payment platform Alipay.

The channel, which went live on Feb. 15, has a range of user-generated content made by NBA China's network of influencers and Alipay's authorized content creators, Hangzhou-based Ant said on its website today. This is the first time that NBA content has been made available for Chinese fans on Alipay, it added.

The pair will jointly develop original videos, joint membership, an NBA mini-program, joint marketing campaigns, digital collectibles, and social responsibility initiatives to engage fans and communities, according to Ant.

“Bringing the NBA's high-quality content and engaged content creators onto our platform is an important step for Alipay to embrace the content ecosystem as an open platform,” said Ni Xingjun, Ant’s chief technology officer and Alipay’s chairman.

The NBA has existing tie-ups with television and digital media outlets in China, including a more than 30-year partnership with China Media Group, the country's largest media firm, Ant pointed out. The league also sells its licensed merchandise via e-commerce and social media platforms in the county, it noted.

The deal increases the competition between Ant and Tencent Holdings, the owner of Alipay's major rival WeChat Pay. The internet giant's Tencent Video is China's largest NBA streaming platform.

Editor: Martin Kadiev