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06:23:00
Once kings of China's football scene, the Bundesliga has fallen behind Europe's star-heavy leagues. But thanks to summer exhibitions and social media engagement, the German league is making a comeback.
China is a huge target market for sports leagues around the world. In the late 1980s, the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the US was one of the first western leagues to show how lucrative sports marketing in China can be. Many European football leagues have since followed suit and now they are facilitators of China's drive to become a football superpower. If it seems like European football leagues are jumping on the bandwagon, one should remember that the Bundesliga was the trendsetter. Chinese football fanatics have been able to watch Germany's top league on China Central Television (CCTV) since 1995, and its only competition at the time were Italy's Serie A and the NBA. "Players from the league were well known to Chinese football fans," Liu Siyuan, a Bundesliga commentator for CCTV 5+, told DW. "Everyone could tell a story from their favorite player in the Bundesliga." But as more European leagues entered the Chinese market, the Bundesliga and Serie A began to take a back seat. According to a 2016 survey by the Nielsen Sports Group, the Chinese Super League and England's Premier League captured more interest from the Chinese urban population than the Bundesliga. Television statistics also reflect this interest. The Premier League had more broadcast time and higher penetration rates (broadcasts reaching audiences of 350 million or more) in the 2014-15 season than the Bundesliga, according to CSM Media Research statistics. "As time progressed, Chinese sports fans got more options, and popularity of Serie A and the Bundesliga decreased," said Siyuan. "But they are still two of the most popular professional football leagues in China." The Bundesliga has tried to make a comeback by making a stronger marketing offensive. Clubs have undertaken preseason tours in China, for example, Bayern Munich in 2015 and Borussia Dortmund and Schalke in 2016. Bayern also opened an office in Shanghai in September of 2014, and Hamburger SV is collaborating with Super League club SPIG in Shanghai. Four clubs - Bayern, Schalke, Wolfsburg and Borussia Mönchengladbach - have even created official Chinese websites in recent years.
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