A survey of the world's leading football clubs revealed that Bayern Munich has "the best digital media presence in China," according to Matt Slater of the BBC. The fifth annual Red Card report placed the Bundesliga club "at the top of table," ahead of ManU. Prepared by Shanghai-based consultancy Mailman, "the report looks at commercial success, engagement and social media." Mailman CEO Andrew Collins said, "Our report shows which clubs are making headway in this booming football market. China is different to the rest of Asia and clubs have found it hard to see financial returns here in the past. But that is changing now and it all stems from the Chinese government's mandate to promote international sport, particularly football, and get the population more active." Chinese investors "have bought stakes in European clubs." But money has "also flowed into the domestic game," with high-profile names such as former England Manager Sven-Goran Eriksson, ex-Italy Manager Marcello Lippi and former Brazil boss Luiz Felipe Scolari being tempted to the Chinese Super League.
WHY BAYERN: Unlike the Premier League, Germany's Bundesliga "sold its rights to a number of free-to-air broadcasters as opposed to a more lucrative pay-TV deal, which means its games are widely available." Bayern also played three games in China in July, "when England's top clubs were focused on the North American market." In terms of social media followers, ManU and Man City "lead the way by some margin." However, Man City scores "relatively poorly in terms of comments, forwards, likes, mentions and reads, which is how Mailman measures engagement." In contrast, Bayern scores "highly here, followed closely by Barcelona, Liverpool and AC Milan" (BBC, 1/28).
