ManU has reportedly replaced Bayern Munich "as the most popular team online in China," according to Saj Chowdhury of the BBC. The sixth edition of Mailman Sports' Red Card, which analyzes the influence of 53 European clubs on China's social media platforms, has Arsenal and Liverpool joint third with Man City fifth. The Bundesliga "remains the most influential league online." Arsenal's Mesut Özil is the "second most popular player behind Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo." ManU forward Wayne Rooney, who has been linked with a move to China, "also features in the top five, along with Old Trafford teammate Anthony Martial." Wales int'l Gareth Bale is third, but Lionel Messi is "a notable absentee." The Barcelona forward "does not have a social media presence in China." The study "took its data from Chinese social media platforms WeChat and Weibo, the latter a cross between Twitter and Facebook, as well as audience figures from live streams of games and how the respective club websites perform in the country." Mailman Sports Business Dir David Hornby said, "The Premier League is complacent. Its clubs have decent numbers of followers on Weibo, but not as high engagement. The Bundesliga clubs are far more active. The German league tells its clubs what to do, whereas the respective Premier League clubs are in control of what they do" (BBC, 2/23).
LOCAL PRESENCE: ESPN.com reported a "local presence also helps." ManU played Borussia Dortmund in Shanghai in July before a match against Man City in Beijing "was cancelled due to weather." On ManU's move to the top, Hornby said, "There was a gap between following and engagement. United were the most followed, but Bayern were a country mile ahead regarding activity online" (ESPN.com, 2/23). In Hong Kong, Simon Chadwick wrote the second thing Mailman's latest research tells us is "about the power of social media in China, particularly when football is involved" (SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 2/23).
STREAMING: THE DRUM's Danielle Long reported this year's report "also included live streaming figures." The technology has "experienced strong growth in China, where more than 200 live stream platforms battle to gain market share of over 300 million users." While most of the clubs are "dipping their toes" into the live streaming market, Hornby said that Borussia Dortmund was "the first European club to successfully live stream in China," attracting over 500,000 people to its content (THE DRUM, 2/23).
