The Chinese national team once again failed to qualify for the World Cup. However, the tournament was very much present in the Chinese market. As the event kicked off, advertisements featuring stars like Messi, Ronaldo, Mbappé, and Haaland flooded Chinese TV and shopping mall screens. Chinese companies engaged in a fierce marketing competition, and stories of fans staying up all night to watch the matches were common.
The final match between Spain and Argentina was broadcast simultaneously on CCTV1 and CCTV5, reflecting this enthusiasm. However, as the clock approached 6 a.m. during extra time, CCTV1 switched to regular news programming. In South Korea, it would be natural to delay news scheduling by a few minutes to accommodate the game. A notice appeared on the screen indicating that the match continued on CCTV5, meaning the game itself was not entirely lost.
The halftime show, however, was a different story. While global pop stars took the stage, Chinese broadcasts filled that time with advertisements and match commentary. There were explanations that the broadcast rights for the performance were not secured, and interpretations on Chinese social media pointed to other underlying reasons.
Such scenes are not uncommon in sports broadcasting. During the opening ceremony of the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, when the Taiwanese team entered, Chinese streaming platforms switched to other programming. In the 2024 Paris Olympics opening ceremony, commentary on LGBTQ-related scenes was abruptly halted on CCTV.
Similar patterns can be seen in films and dramas. In 'Minions: The Rise of Gru,' an explanation was added at the end stating that the villain was captured and the protagonist returned home. In 'Friends,' some lines were deleted or translated with different meanings.
The common thread is reconstruction rather than outright censorship. China does not block all external content nor does it present it in its original form. While the overarching narrative is accepted, what is shown and how it is conveyed is redefined according to internal Chinese standards.
Of course, localizing foreign content for domestic markets is not unique to China. However, in China, broadcasting regulations, industrial interests, cultural tolerances, and political sensitivities all play a role. This is why the same content can be consumed differently in China.
These reconstructions may seem minor. Yet, on that halftime show, while many viewers around the world watched BTS perform, Chinese viewers saw local advertisements instead. For some, BTS's performance became a memorable part of the World Cup final, while for others, it was a scene that did not exist at all. Even while watching the same game, the worlds that remain in each person's mind are different. Such small discrepancies accumulate over time.
When Chinese viewers react differently to the same event, we often think of differences in values or political leanings. However, during this World Cup, the screens seen by Chinese viewers and those seen by us were not the same. Some scenes were omitted, some expressions were altered, and some contexts were conveyed with different explanations.
As what is seen and what is not seen accumulates, the very starting point for understanding the world changes. While we believe we are watching the same thing, we are actually seeing different things.
- Choi Yeo-jin, CEO of Maxvalue Capital, Ph.D. candidate in International Communication at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
* This article has been translated by AI.
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.