Are There More Fulham Fans In China Than UK?

[White Noise]

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/3866376/Wayne-Rooney-and-Prem-stars-pull-in-47-billion-TV-viewers.html




Wayne Rooney and Prem stars pull in 4.7 billion TV viewers


By MARK IRWIN


Published: 12 Oct 2011


Add a comment  (9)

PREMIER LEAGUE football attracted a staggering 4.7BILLION TV viewers last season.

Global demand to watch stars such as Wayne Rooney, Robin van Persie, Didier Drogba and Steven Gerrard is at a new peak.

Figures released by a leading sports business consultancy reveal that 70 per cent of ALL football fans worldwide are now watching the English game.

The report, commissioned by the Sport+Markt group in Germany, shows that TV coverage of the Premier League reached 643million homes last season — a rise of 11 per cent on the previous season.

The in-home TV audience has now stretched to a record 3.9bn, with a further 777m watching in pubs and bars in every corner of the planet. The biggest market for the English game is in the Asia and Oceania region, where 1.3bn viewers tuned in to watch the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea in 2010-11.

The figures estimate 64 per cent of all Chinese fans now support a Premier League club, while half the football followers in the USA have a favourite English team.

In total, the Premier League accounted for 185,000 hours of global TV coverage last season, making it far and away the most popular sporting competition in the world.

In the UK alone, 629m viewers watched live or highlighted coverage last season, with a further 761m across the rest of Europe.

Andrew Walsh, the Sport+Markt head of international affairs, said: "The explanation for these remarkable figures lies largely in the redistribution of international rights for the start of the new three-year broadcast term last year.

"One main driver of the rise was the switch of the League's broadcast rights in China from pay TV over to terrestrial coverage.

"That has burst open the floodgates in terms of the Premier League's popularity in the world's biggest and fastest-growing market."

A Premier League spokesman said: "Our international fan base and success is helping develop English football at all levels, something we should all be pleased about.

"Whether they are at the ground in person or watching all around the world on TV, fans know what they will get from a Premier League game. They'll see some of the world's best talent in thrilling matches played at packed stadiums."

[zzamora]

I'm going to China next week...I shall find out!

[Burt]

If we ever got a star Chinese player in the squad then we would almost certainly have a huge following there. And possibly here too - I remember when Inamoto used to play for us there were plenty of Japanese fans who would turn up.

[Rupert]

Complete nonsense, keep up to date, please, they only watch the games to see Liverpool. We should just be grateful to be seen on the same pitch as those international giants.

:airfix:

[FatFreddysCat]

No...... I reckon we have seven fans in China.

[FatFreddysCat]

No...... I reckon we have seven fans in China.

Or perhaps number 9 , number 22 and number 33 and two spring rolls please.

[zzamora]

No...... I reckon we have seven fans in China.

Or perhaps number 9 , number 22 and number 33 and two spring rolls please.

:drums:

[beijing ben]

Having a Chinese player would generate some interest in us but wouldn't make much of an impact, not here in Beijing anyway. It's mostly basketball. If they like the premiership then its only one of Man U, Liverpool or Chelsea.

I try, i really do. I teach kids from 6 to 14. If they show any interest in football i try to guide them towards the light.. As it is, in nearly six years of being here i have met no more than ten Fulham fans. None of them Chinese.

When i first got here watching the premiership was easy. It was on the normal TV channels that everyone can get but now they don't show it in Beijing. They might show a game on Sunday but if there is another sport that is popular they won't. Right now is the world gymnastics so i don't expect it to be on this week. The bundesliga usually has at least one game on a week, usually two. There a few bars that can get the premiership but its really not as popular as it may have been suggested.

[Scrumpy]

Ben

Great to see you flying the flag so far away! You can lead a horse to water etc...

Presumably, you haven't met the Macau Massive? Or Dunhuang Derek, Guangdong Greg and Taiyuan Trevor? Good lads, the lot of 'em but a little elusive. Needle in a haystack and all that.

COYWs

[Jack Fulham]

I've always wandered if the Chinese made football there national sport and brought in some quality coaches, surely they could become one of the most promising footballing nations in the world. However, I suppose two of the current best nations in the world are relatively small if you look at the Netherlands and  Uruguay. Particularly in Holland where they're all taught to play the same way and most clubs play 4-3-3.

[manxman]

No...... I reckon we have seven fans in China.

Or perhaps number 9 , number 22 and number 33 and two spring rolls please.

You china be funny ? ;)

[epsomraver]

Good incentive if you don't play well you get the bullet.........literally!

[Rambling_Syd_Rumpo]

apart from some ex pats and some die hards there will be hardly any Fulham fans in the Far East,we are just not on the radar  fp.gif

[Logicalman]

Complete nonsense, keep up to date, please, they only watch the games to see Liverpool. We should just be grateful to be seen on the same pitch as those international giants.

:airfix:

on't forget Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea as well. Remember there ARE only 4 teams in the Prem, the rest of us are also-rans just to make the numbers up - well according to that ''Richard' from 'Pool, we are.

[MrFantastic]

There is more of everything in China there

[Burt]

No...... I reckon we have seven fans in China.

Or perhaps number 9 , number 22 and number 33 and two spring rolls please.

You china be funny ? ;)

It Mao be time to give up on the bad gags...
Get Coat gif

[finnster01]

They need to sell a lot of new little red books to pull that off.

Man U has stolen that market already.