(Yicai Global) June 9 -- Wanda Sports Group, a Chinese athletic event, media and marketing platform, has adopted digital and broadcast means to meet surging demand for live and digital sports consumption against widening losses in the first quarter as most sports events were canceled or postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The company’s shares [NASDAQ:WSG] fell 2.17 percent to close at USD2.71 yesterday.

Wanda is continuing online racing and event experiences to keep athletes and fan communities connected and engaged, it said in the first-quarter report it released today.

Its losses widened by 26.5 percent to EUR4.3 million (USD4.7 million) in the first quarter. Its revenue was EUR163.7 million (USD180.3 million), a 25.56 percent drop, per the report.

The number of gross-paid athletes decreased to 4,000 in the quarter, compared to 45,000 the same time last year, from event cancellations stemming from the pandemic.

Editor: Ben Armour