As "millions around the world" tuned into the Super Bowl on big-screen TVs, fans in China watched the New England Patriots "stun" the Atlanta Falcons on mobile phones and tablets -- "on their way to work," according to Cadell & Richwine of REUTERS. For the first time, the Super Bowl streamed live on "popular messaging platform Sina Weibo." The "stakes are high for the league's bid to tap the enormous potential" of China's 1.4 billion people. Just over 3 million people tuned into the live stream to watch the game, according to a viewer count on the site. Others watched via platforms like Tencent and LeSports. China's interest in football, however, "remains a challenge." The sport is still new to China, and NFL China Managing Dir Richard Young said that the league is "pushing tie-ups with more than a dozen platforms on regular television and online to reach viewers, even at rush hour." Young: "They watch (the games), they pause them. They get on and off the bus and on and off the taxi." The Super Bowl broadcast in China featured Chinese graphics and announcers explaining the rules and plays. The NFL hosted "boot camps" for Chinese commentators to "bone up on touchdowns, fumbles and other football jargon." Hong Kong singer and actor William Chan, the NFL's China ambassador, tweeted about the Super Bowl in the run-up to the match for his more than 21 million followers on Weibo. He did not attend the game though, as had been expected. Still, the NFL "lags far behind" sports such as basketball in China. Industry experts said that many of today's football fans in China are Americans living abroad or foreign-born Chinese. Marc Ganis, the president of consulting firm Sports Corp. Ltd. and an adviser to NFL teams, said, "There is no existing fan base but for the expats and people who were educated and lived in the United States. That's an enormous challenge" (REUTERS, 2/5).
