2018 World Cup a massive success for China TV

The decline of live TV watching behaviour has been a long-lasting trend in China. The previous FIFA World Cup was held in Brazil in 2014 summer. During the first half of that year, on average every Chinese TV audience would watch 160 minutes of TV every day. Fast forward four years – in the first half of 2018, the number has further lost more than half an hour to 128 minutes. The challenge brought by digital video platforms has clearly squeezed people’s time in front of TV screens.

However, the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018 was a different story. The favourable time difference – only five hours behind Beijing Time – enabled many games to be broadcast live during prime time in China, such as 8 pm, 10 pm, or 11 pm. The matches successfully regrouped big crowds in front of TV sets in early summer nights.