CHINA
AND
FOOTBALL
WORLD SPORT’S
NEWEST SUPERPOWER
2016 NIELSEN SPORTS REPORT
CHINA AND FOOTBALLCopyright2016 The Nielsen Company23
The growth of China in terms of its infuence on the global sports
business is no secret. Be it investors from China acquiring and investing
in sports properties across Europe, international leagues and teams
looking to tap into the country’s enormous population to engage a new
wave of fans, the buying or selling of key broadcast rights or China’s
strategic acquisition of major international sports events, the world of
sport has well and truly woken up to the possibilities the market ofers.
The world is looking to China and China, increasingly, is looking to the
world. Led by strategies developed at a national government level,
Chinese companies and individuals are making their mark on global
sport like never before. Football, as the world’s most popular and visible
sport, has proved magnetic in its attraction: the list of clubs and
agencies under Chinese control has grown substantially over the past
two years, while at the same time the domestic Chinese Super League
has risen in prominence, with fresh investment fuelling a number
of eye-catching transfers from more established domestic leagues.
The global sports calendar is also increasingly littered with major events
in China. Formula One has raced there since 2004, the FIBA Basketball
World Cup is heading there in 2019 and in 2022 Beijing will become
the frst city to host both the summer and winter Olympic Games when
it plays host to the winter version. Given the size and fuidity of the
market and with new investments being made on a near-weekly basis,
a detailed understanding of the Chinese consumer is more vital
than ever. This Nielsen Sports report aims to provide an outline of that
consumer, China’s media landscape and where domestic and inter-
national football fts into the picture.
CHINA AND FOOTBALL
4I THE CHINESE CONSUMER
Understanding the consumer must be at the heart
of any global sports organisation’s China strategy.
8I MEDIA
China’s media landscape has changed dramatically,
led by a new wave of broadcast groups.
12I CHINA’S FOOTBALL MARKET
The Chinese Super League is growing in
prominence and sparking international interest.
18I CHINA’S INTERNATIONAL INVESTMENT
China is increasingly looking at global sport as
a tool to raise profle and enhance business links.
CONTENTS43
THE WORLD OF SPORT
IS LOOKING TO CHINA
AND CHINA, INCREASINGLY,
IS LOOKING TO
THE SPORTS WORLD.
GLENN LOVETT DANNY TOWNSEND
UNDERSTANDING THE CHINESE
CONSUMER – THEIR LOCATIONS, HABITS
AND PREFERENCES – IS A PRIORITY
FOR ANY GLOBAL SPORTS ORGANISATION.
THE CHINESE
CONSUMERThere are currently 1.3 billion mobile phones active in China.
CHINA AT-A-GLANCE
China is a global powerhouse and it is no surprise that the sports industry –
teams, federations, leagues and sponsors – are looking towards the
country and its 1.37 billion people and eyeing major growth opportunities.
As China looks increasingly outwards at the opportunities investment
in sport at a global level can open up, so the world’s leading sports
leagues and teams have recognised the potential that exists to engage
a large group of new fans and unlock revenue opportunities within
China. Technology is opening up direct access to the Chinese consumer
like never before, underlining the opportunity – in 2015, for example,
the CIA World Factbook estimated there are now 1.305 billion mobile
phones in the country.
1.37
BILLION
POPULATION
July 2015 est. CIA World Factbook
DEMOGRAPHICS
55.6%
URBAN POPULATION
75.41
1.305
BILLION
NUMBER OF
MOBILE PHONES:
YEARS
LIFE EXPECTANCY
AGE BREAKDOWN
0–14 YEARS |17%
15–24 YEARS |14%
25–54 YEARS | 48%
55–64 YEARS | 11%
65 AND OVER |10%
Source: CIA World Factbook
MAJOR CITIES
23.74
20.38
13.3
12.46
11.21
10.75
SHANGHAI
BEIJING
CHONGQING
GUANGDONG
TIANJIN
SHENZHEN
millionMILLIONS OF PEOPLE
36.8
YEARS
AVERAGE AGE
Copyright2016 The Nielsen Company5CHINA AND FOOTBALL4
STEADY GROWTH
Football accounts for three of the top fve most popular sports events
in China, with the FIFA World Cup and National Basketball Association
heading the list. Table tennis’ world championship is the only other
non-football event to make the top fve.
In terms of sports overall, interest in football has been growing steadily
over the last 3 years, and now stands at 31% of the urban population
aged 16–59. Basketball is the country’s most popular sport – the China
Basketball Association, the top-tier basketball league in China, was
founded in 1995, while the NBA has played games in the country for over
a decade – ahead of traditional favourites, table tennis and badminton.
Sports such as cycling have grown in popularity recently, perhaps a
result of the increased national investment in a number of Olympic
sports in the build-up to Beijing’s hosting of the 2008 Olympic Games.
Motorsport and mixed martial arts are also growing strongly.
In terms of individual European football clubs, Real Madrid are currently
the most popular team in China. Italian clubs FC Internazionale and
AC Milan also make the top three, largely for historic reasons – Serie A
was the frst European league broadcast in China
Source: Nielsen Sports (Urban China), May 2016
SLIGHT DECLINE
CURRENT CHINESE INTEREST LEVELS IN SELECTED SPORTS (%)
COLOUR CODING INDICATES THE RATE OF CHANGE OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS
MOST POPULAR EUROPEAN FOOTBALL CLUBS IN CHINA
Source: Nielsen Sports, May 2015
ATHLETICS
24%
BADMINTON
36%
BASEBALL
10%
CYCLING
26%
GOLF
10%
MMA
14%
MOTORSPORT
21%
RUGBY UNION
8%
TABLE TENNIS
37%
TENNIS
20%
VOLLEYBALL
23%
BASKETBALL
40%
SWIMMING
34%
STRONG GROWTHSTEADY GROWTHPRETTY FLAT
123
REAL MADRID
127
MILLION
FC INTERNAZIONALEAC MILAN
106
MILLION
106
MILLION
31%
OF URBAN CHINA
IS INTERESTED
IN FOOTBALL
A Chinese fan holds the national
fag to support the country’s
football team at the 2015
FIFA Women’s World Cup.
FOOTBALL
31%
Copyright2016 The Nielsen Company7CHINA AND FOOTBALL6
Copyright2016 The Nielsen Company9CHINA AND FOOTBALL8
CHINA’S MEDIA LANDSCAPE
HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY
OVER THE PAST DECADE,
LED BY A NEW WAVE OF SPORTS
BROADCAST PLATFORMS.
MEDIAWHAT DEVICES ARE PEOPLE USING TO GET ONLINE SPORTS INFORMATION
CHINA’S MEDIA
LANDSCAPE
China’s media landscape is transforming. The country has hundreds
of television broadcast stations, 20 of which are operated by broadcast
giant China Central Television (CCTV) with the rest either provincial or
local city stations. It is also one of the world’s major advertising markets.
A NEW BREED OF BROADCASTER
But a new wave of online media companies have emerged, refecting
the appetite of consumers and evolving technology, to challenge CCTV’s
historic dominance of premium domestic and international sports rights.
These emerging giants are increasingly incorporating the live streaming
of sports into a suite of services also including messaging platforms
such as Tencent’s QQ, WeChat, Sina Weibo plus retail and e-commerce,
smartphones and games.
Of China’s 1.37 billion population, there are currently 680 million active
internet users, with 653 million of them active users of social media.
577 million of those people are active on social platforms via a mobile.*
While television is still a primary source of information for much of
China’s population, particularly in non-urban areas,