Social Networks for Soccer in China are Diminishing, Fans Say

Zhang Hang is a soccer fan. He feels lonely because he can't find other fans online to discuss the games. Douyin, which holds the broadcasting rights of the World Cup, has devolved into a place for memes and parodies. Online sports forums that he used to visit are flooded with posts comparing football stars like Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Hupu and Dongqiudi for soccer fans have become less engaging and more fragmented. They had hoped that major sporting events would drive traffic to boost their profits.

Zhang watched the World Cup on Douyin and WeChat. He finds the discussion about the games boring. People who take soccer seriously prefer browsing Hupu or Dongqiudi for useful information and in-depth discussion. On Dongqiudi, fans can set up a chatroom for their favorite club to discuss anything from matches to players. There is a community for almost every club in the Big Five European football leagues. Zhang used to review the matches with his peers but now he rarely posts anything. When a player wins, people think he's amazing, when he loses, he is deemed worthless.

Tieba was the most popular forum for sports fans in China 12 years ago. The rapid growth of the user base and several controversies exposed mismanagement at Baidu and the shortcomings of its features. With the rise of other platforms like Weibo and WeChat, soccer fans began to move away from Tieba. Dongqiudi became the first site exclusively dedicated to soccer. Hupu saw a continued drop in its userbase after it peaked at 7.16 million users in February this year. According to Chinese data analysis provider Analysys Qianfan, Dongqiudi saw 3.15 million active users in October 2022.

Social networks for Soccer in China are dying a slow death. Sports-focused platforms that only have millions of active users cannot compete with their mainstream counterparts that have tens of millions. They struggle to keep up with well-funded video platforms competing for broadcasting rights. Hupu has failed twice to launch an IPO as the market doubts its ability to monetize. In recent years, almost every soccer- focused social media platform has dipped their toes into soccer betting to increase revenue. HUPu also provides “expert views” as paid content. It's hard for users to be influenced by advertisements.

Social networks for Soccer in China are Diminishing, Fans Say.