Tom Brady and Patriots’ Super Bowl win lures rush hour crowd in China on Weibo livestream
Fans not deterred by early morning start time as NFL scores with viewers via online push for New England’s epic comeback victory against the Falcons
As millions around the world settled into couches and tuned into the Super Bowl on big-screen TVs on Sunday, fans in China watched the New England Patriots stun the Atlanta Falcons on mobile phones and tablets – on their way to work.
The National Football League is looking to score with viewers in China, where games often start during morning rush hour, via a push online. 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.
US sports leagues and media companies are increasingly looking to China’s market for growth. World Wrestling Entertainment, for example, is training Chinese athletes in hopes of turning them into television sensations.
As the Patriots mounted a stirring comeback against the Falcons, a major hurdle was that the Sunday afternoon US kickoff was at 7:30 on Monday morning in China, 14 hours ahead of game time at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.