China’s largest tech firms and rising consumer electronics brands are vying for sponsorship slots at the Spring Festival Gala, as intensifying AI competition transforms the nation’s most-watched TV broadcast into a key marketing arena. ByteDance, Tencent, and Alibaba have held talks with state broadcaster CCTV on high-stakes partnerships, though the final structure remains unsettled.
China’s Spring Festival Gala, the country’s most-viewed television event, has become a battleground for tech giants seeking advertising real estate. ByteDance, Tencent Holdings, and Alibaba Group Holding have engaged in discussions with state broadcaster China Central Television (CCTV) over high-stakes partnership packages, according to people familiar with the matter.
ByteDance’s cloud computing arm, Volcano Engine, was previously reported as the gala’s exclusive AI cloud partner, while its AI chatbot app Doubao is expected to introduce new interactive features during the broadcast, as reported by Chinese business outlet LatePost last week. However, the final sponsorship structure has yet to be settled, one person familiar with the talks said, as ByteDance has pushed for exclusive AI-related terms that would effectively bar the mention or use of rival cloud and AI software providers—a demand that has complicated negotiations.
The competition goes beyond mere logos: the gala has a history of turning product features into moments of mass adoption. Shanghai-based robotics start-up Agibot has also been reported as bidding for a slot. Unitree Robotics secured a partnership for the previous show in January, one person said, adding that the deal cost about 100 million yuan (US$14 million). The company made headlines at that gala when six humanoid robots performed a folk dance.
With AI rivalry heating up, the Spring Festival Gala serves as a platform to showcase technological prowess and drive rapid product adoption.
