Total World Cup Viewers on Douyin Livestreaming Reached 10.6 Billion

During the recent FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Chinese short video platform Douyin provided full-time and 4K ultra-high-definition free livestreaming content. On December 20, the platform released a report, showing that the cumulative number of livestreaming viewers of the World Cup reached 10.6 billion, and the number of interactions between users totaled 1.3 billion.

The World Cup Final alone attracted 230 million viewers, with 37.06 million peak concurrent users. 4.92 million viewers chose to chat with other football fans while watching the final. According to the report, livestreaming of games was shared 26.08 million times, and the cumulative number of viewers in games with accessible subtitles was 19.05 million.

In the e-commerce field, from November 21 to December 15, the sales volume related to the World Cup increased by over 400% compared with that before the competition, the sales volume of authorized merchants on Douyin increased by over 200%, and 80,000 products related to La’eeb, the competition’s official mascot, were sold on Douyin.

For viewers of the World Cup, Douyin cut all advertisements before the livestreaming and provided a 4K high frame rate mode free of charge and multiple narrator channels. However, non-members of Migu Video needed to watch a 90-second advertisement and could not choose 4K definition, while the CCTV did not provide a 4K definition option.

The focus of Douyin during the World Cup is on the introduction of narrators and self-made programs, which is closer to the strategy of traditional media. Eight variety shows were launched and sponsored by firms from fields like alcohol, dairy products, automobiles and games. Commentators Huang Jianxiang, Liu Jianhong and Duan Xuan joined the recording of these programs while updating their personal Douyin accounts.

Douyin invited football players like Neymar, Beckham, and Owen to contribute to the livestreams. However, the updated content of these famous stars was not attractive enough. Neymar and Beckham’s posts were almost the same as those on platforms in other countries, and Owen’s posts were not relevant to the World Cup. In contrast, Mourinho, Simeone, and Lingard updated their personal reviews and predictions of the World Cup in real time on Xiaohongshu. Lingard and Mourinho also held livestreams on the Chinese social media platforms.

SEE ALSO: NetEase, Cotti Coffee, Other Chinese Firms Sponsored World Cup Winner Argentina

In June, Douyin Sports and Trend Insight jointly released a report, showing that as of February 2022, there were more than 120 million sports content creators on Douyin, of which more than 63,000 had more than 10,000 followers, and behind them, there were over 470 million sports fans in Douyin. High web traffic and content productivity forms Douyin’s unique competitive advantage in the sports industry.