Tag Archives: Super Bowl

China’s Censored Crowd Close-ups Spark World Cup Outrage

China’s national broadcaster CCTV censored close-ups of crowd shots throughout the World Cup in Qatar – but how did they it, why were they doing it, and what does it all mean?

A funny thing happened shortly after the start of the FIFA World Cup. I was browsing WeChat, the ubiquitous social media platform in China which combines Facebook-style posts with WhatsApp-style messaging (plus a whole lot more), and I came across this video post below:

What it showed was footage from parallel broadcasts of the Australia vs Tunisia World Cup game on November 26, 2022, with the international feed (complete with BBC graphics) at the top and China’s state-run channel CCTV’s version at the bottom. They were exactly the same, but with one crucial difference: whenever the BBC version went to close-up shots of the crowd, the CCTV version showed close-ups of the two coaches on the sidelines instead.

The general commentary online had made the connection with China’s COVID policy at the time and the World Cup in Qatar, ostensibly asking the question “Why is it that thousands of people can congregate at the World Cup without wearing masks whereas we here in China are largely confined to our homes?”

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Ni Hao Super Bowl!

The following is a guest post written by Jo Hoopes, who accompanied Chinese media on their trip to Super Bowl XLIX last week.

While Chinese media covering American football may once have seemed like an anomaly, this year correspondents and commentators from PPTV, LeTV, CCTV, Shanghai’s G-Sports, Guangdong TV (GDTV), Sina.com and Hupu.com all turned up bright eyed and bushy tailed for Super Bowl week, taking in the larger-than-life fan events and Media Day frenzy with enthusiasm.

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China Sports Insider Ep. 5 – Jerry Rice

NFL legend Jerry Rice, ranked by NFL Films as the greatest player in history, visited China last month as part of the NFL’s continued efforts to promote the game overseas, and China Sports Insider was there to see him. Rice talks about the success the NFL has had in London, how the approach in China is different – plus why a Super Bowl in China would “fantastic”.

For previous episodes of the China Sports Insider video series, see Ep 1 (motor racing), Ep 2 (NFL), Ep 3 (golf) and Ep 4 (Beijing’s Olympic bid).

China Sports Insider Ep. 2 – Joe Montana interview

San Francisco 49ers legendary quarterback Joe Montana – he of the FOUR Super Bowl wins – was in China recently to promote the NFL. I got the chance to interview him on top of the Great Wall and asked him about the development of the game in China, when Chinese fans can expect to see a preseason game and how soon it will be until a Chinese born-and-bred player makes it in the NFL.

For China Sports Insider Ep.1, click here.

Whose ring is it anyway?

A brief departure from China for this week’s Sports Talk column to discuss one of the best – and most unusual – sport stories of the year: the non-Fellowship of the Ring. It turns out this story made news at the time eight years ago, with media asking back then if it Putin had stolen it. Kraft stuck to the script, but, eight years later, is apparently fed up and wants the ring back. Putin has since insisted through a spokesman it had always been a gift. It’s hardly a case for the ICC, but it will be interesting to see if there are any further developments. Here’s the piece:

It’s been a good week for unexpected sports stories.

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