World Cup Copyright Three-Way Battle: CCTV "Guards the Goal", Migu "Controls the Ball", Xiaohongshu "Launches a Counterattack"

This year's World Cup copyright battle can be simply summarized in two sentences.

First, after several rounds of news bombardment about the inaccurate "CCTV won the FIFA" copyright negotiation, CCTV and Migu Video under China Mobile, which is distributed by CCTV, will undoubtedly continue to hold the rights to broadcast the 2026 FIFA World Cup in the United States, Canada, and Mexico as in previous editions. (This article does not discuss small - scale right - holding broadcasters such as Five Star Sports for the time being.)

Second, somewhat unexpectedly, Xiaohongshu invested about 1.7 billion yuan (estimated by the industry) to participate in the World Cup for the first time. It has become the only licensee outside CCTV and Migu to obtain the exclusive short - video copyright from the China Media Group and can broadcast and provide on - demand services for 104 matches of this World Cup. Such a high - risk move by a new player has been rated by the outside world as "a bold bet on traffic."

As the globally celebrated World Cup kicks off in full swing, this article by Rhino Jun will cut to the chase and focus on the key points. Where are the opportunities for Xiaohongshu to enter the World Cup? What are its purposes? Can it succeed? Can CCTV and Migu, the established broadcasters, still maintain their dominant positions? Let's analyze the stories behind these platforms and the business strategies involved.

"Browse" the World Cup on Xiaohongshu

Let's start with the most core question.

Where are the opportunities for Xiaohongshu to enter the World Cup?

Rhino Jun believes that the key word is "freshness." As the most eye - catching event for humanity, the changes in media across different eras determine which new players can get a chance to the game.

If Xiaohongshu can redefine the "new way of watching football" led by Generation Z and post - 00s social media users and tell the only novel World Cup story in this year's copyright battle, it will be a brand opportunity for Xiaohongshu to step onto the historical stage.

In most relevant reports, Rhino Jun noticed that leveraging the World Cup to drive the growth of male users and pave the way for the expansion of mid - and long - form video services are the reasons why people think this community platform, which mainly targets female users and focuses on graphic sharing, has set its sights on the World Cup.

Can Xiaohongshu achieve its goals as expected?

There are still quite a few possibilities at present.

Recently, hot topics such as the inventory of handsome players in this World Cup and the influx of numerous football celebrities posting daily videos (including England star Jude Bellingham, well - known football commentator He Wei from the China Media Group, and international transfer expert journalist Fabrizio Romano) have once again boosted the enthusiasm of the community. For Xiaohongshu, which currently has 170 million daily active users and 400 million monthly active users, the World Cup is indeed one of the fastest - acting traffic engines to increase the user growth ceiling.

However, since Xiaohongshu's main users are from first - and second - tier cities, the key to whether "Xiaohongshu's World Cup" can break through the existing user circle lies in finding a way to spread its unique way of watching football to users in lower - tier areas.

Otherwise, as we have observed, the scale of Xiaohongshu's World Cup, with only 30 million users having made viewing reservations, still lags far behind the influence of CCTV and Migu, which are the "more commonly used platforms" and cover the entire country's audience and senior football fans.

Some new community features are very important.

The World Cup interactive features recently launched by Xiaohongshu, such as exclusive fan cards, team avatars, and fan circles for teams, players, and coaches, have shown some good results. In particular, the social media avatar logos with the certification of fans of a particular team are suitable for "viral spread." However, it remains to be seen whether these so - called fan circles can fit the usage habits of Xiaohongshu users.

Then there is the entertainment effect of the live broadcasts.

It can be seen that Xiaohongshu has put some thought into arranging the commentary lineup for the matches. For popular matches, it has assembled a three - person commentary team consisting of professional commentators, tactical advisors, and cross - border celebrities. For example, for the opening match between Mexico and South Africa, Yu Xinmiao, Fan Zhiyi, and Guan Zeyuan were sent. Retired player influencers and cross - border e - sports stars can obviously attract the attention of diverse groups to Xiaohongshu's World Cup. (The recruitment of short - track speed skater Wang Meng and game streamer Wang Hanzhe follows a similar logic.)

There is also the communication effect of the World Cup - related derivative programs.

The core highlights of Xiaohongshu's planned programs "Fan Zhiyi, the Fan" and "This Ball is Something" are also cross - border guests. In "Fan Zhiyi, the Fan", Teng, who is interested in antiques, is paired with General Fan to have a chatty time. Is this clearly trying to grab traffic from Douyin users? In the three - person hosting team of "This Ball is Something", there is an "odd one" Li Fei. The "Happy People's Wonderful Night" cross - border football program is not about professionalism; creating fun and memes is their core KPI!

In recent years, football topics such as the Scottish Premiership and the Village Super League have become the focus of national attention, which shows that sports events are not only about the games themselves but also a way of life that people can relate to. This unprecedented concept and the ability to create memes are the soul of Xiaohongshu's World Cup and will determine how much of a splash it can make.

CCTV and Migu: Staying Steady in the Face of Changes

After discussing Xiaohongshu, let's talk about CCTV and Migu.

Frankly speaking, compared with Xiaohongshu's various creative attempts, CCTV and Migu's strategies for this World Cup seem to be "staying steady in the face of changes." The audience loyalty they enjoy, which Xiaohongshu can only envy, is something that the latter is hard to catch up with in the short term.

CCTV represents the mass base.

CCTV's approach to the World Cup doesn't care about new tricks. It focuses on achieving the most stable national - level reach. Can you imagine asking the elderly at home to download Xiaohongshu to watch the World Cup? It's simply impossible.

CCTV's stability lies in its ace program IPs. When Rhino Jun opened the CCTV Video APP today and saw the words "Grand Feast of the Football Giants", all the memories of previous World Cups came flooding back. Although Zhang Bin no longer hosts the program, viewers have developed a muscle memory of switching back to CCTV 5 to listen to the comments on "Grand Feast of the Football Giants" after watching the games. And the program "Noon Football Chat" launched by Bai Yansong, Sun Jihai, Liu Yue and others is full of in - depth professional analysis and cultural insights. Who among Argentine fans doesn't know the value of Bai Yansong? The China Media Group, which has the most resources of football experts, truly lives up to its reputation.

In fact, CCTV doesn't need to compete with Migu in terms of professionalism, nor does it need to compete with Xiaohongshu in terms of creativity. CCTV's mission is to make the World Cup a national event, and in this regard, it remains irreplaceable.

Migu, on the other hand, has a moat of professionalism.

The foundation of Migu Video is its top - notch commentary team, which has been built over the years with heavy investment backed by the state - owned China Mobile. For the opening match, it arranged Zhan Jun, known as the "walking football database", Zhang Lu, and Xu Yunlong, the former soul of Beijing Guoan. True football fans won't even consider other viewing options!

Migu's lineup is even more impressive. Su Dong's passionate roars, Xu Yang's tactical analysis, Yan Qiang's British perspective, and Li Xin's data interpretation are all top - notch. As an old fan on the Internet put it, "When watching the World Cup on Migu, I don't have to worry about the commentators saying something stupid."

This is precisely the essential difference between Migu and Xiaohongshu. Xiaohongshu users "come in to browse and watch the games by the way", while Migu users "come specifically to watch the games and there is no alternative." There is no superiority or inferiority between the two models, but Migu's uniqueness lies in that it is the safest choice if you want to watch a football game seriously.

By now, the positioning of the three platforms is very clear. CCTV guards the mass entrance, Migu holds the professional high - ground, and Xiaohongshu, which is "new to the World Cup and may encounter various problems during the live broadcasts", seems to be facing a tough battle.

However, Xiaohongshu's biggest opportunity lies in competing for the general public who don't usually watch football but want to join the fun during the World Cup. It may be able to grab more of their time from platforms like Douyin that don't have the World Cup rights.

One of the unique charms of the World Cup is that no one can be certain of the outcome before the final whistle. Xiaohongshu's World Cup journey is like a young player on the bench playing in a major tournament for the first time. The player has good skills but lacks combat experience, and the opponents are as strong as the French team. Can it make a mark?

Let's wait and see after 104 matches in 39 days.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Rhino Entertainment" (ID: piaofangtoushijing). Author: Fang Zheng, Editor: Piao Fang. Republished by 36Kr with permission.