World Cup broadcasting rights stalemate: Don’t think of treating the Chinese market as a cash cow to be harvested

With just over forty days until the World Cup kicks off, the usual flood of event previews from previous years is unusually quiet this year. It’s not that fans no longer love watching football, but that no broadcast signals have been finalized domestically to this day. A football feast, how did it come to this?

Honestly, it’s FIFA still dreaming old dreams, treating the Chinese market as a livestock to be freely manipulated. They’re quoting $250 million in broadcasting fees, nearly 2 billion RMB. When you do the math, it’s clear: all the matches are scheduled in prime time in the U.S., and here it’s all in the middle of the night. Spending billions to buy late-night traffic, advertisers can’t be attracted, it’s just money wasted and suffering for no gain—whoever takes it is the big fool.

What’s even more disheartening is that, due to copyright fee issues, even the credentials for domestic reporters to go on-site for interviews are being deliberately obstructed. This is no longer a commercial negotiation; it’s blatant pressure. FIFA probably thinks that as long as they tightly hold onto the event rights, Chinese platforms will obediently line up to pay.

But they clearly underestimated our confidence. We have the money, but we will never use it to be exploited like chives. Loving football doesn’t mean enduring this kind of unscrupulous exorbitant extortion. Instead of being forced to suffer silently, it’s better to boldly throw down the gauntlet. It’s just a World Cup, what’s the big deal if there’s no broadcast? Without this midnight traffic frenzy, everyone can go to work, live their lives—the sky won’t fall.

This cold treatment is actually a lesson for all arrogant overseas capital. China’s market is indeed huge and full of business opportunities, but that doesn’t mean we will pay unconditionally. To earn Chinese money, you must show sincerity of mutual benefit. Holding onto arrogance of forced buying and selling will only lead to no good results domestically.

The same old truth: only by putting down the sickle to harvest chives and honestly returning to the negotiation table to find a win-win balance is there a way out.