ALMOST FOUR million viewers tuned into the broadcast of Port Adelaide’s Round 5 game against Geelong on CCTV in China.

And almost 2 million saw the Power defeat Essendon in CCTV’s first broadcast into China in Round 3.

On the back of the initial success of Port Adelaide’s broadcast foray into China, CCTV and the AFL have entered a partnership to broadcast one game into the world’s most populous nation each week.

One in three broadcast games will feature Port Adelaide and CCTV will also broadcast any finals in which the Power is a competitor.

Along with weekly match broadcasts, CCTV will continue to screen Port Adelaide’s own AFL Show – a 30-minute program wrapping each round of the AFL season with highlights from across the competition, as well as covering the journey of Port Adelaide SANFL Academy player Chen Shaoliang at Alberton.

The first screening of the AFL Show was seen by around 2 million viewers.

“When we entered into a partnership with CCTV to broadcast games against Essendon and Geelong we weren’t sure how they would be accepted by CCTV’s viewing audience,” Port Adelaide chief executive Keith Thomas says.

“We were hopeful of gaining an audience share of between 1 and 2 million viewers by our second broadcast game but to achieve 2 million viewers for the first broadcast game in Round 3 was very pleasing.

“But for me the real story is in the staggering growth from our first broadcast game to the second.

“To go from reaching approximately 2 million viewers to over 3.5 million the following game tells me there is a real appetite for our game in China.

“On these figures we estimate that by season’s end potentially 60 million Chinese viewers would have watched Port Adelaide on CCTV in 2016.”

Almost 4 million watched the Power's Anzac Day Round game against Geelong at the Adelaide Oval. pic AFL Media

Giving China a taste of the world

CCTV has seen a consistent level of interest in the first broadcasts of Australia’s game, highlighting the popularity of alternative codes to the Chinese staples of rugby and soccer.

“The first impressions of AFL by our staff and via general feedback from viewers is that the sport is very interesting, with faster pace and more vivid movement than other codes such as traditional Rugby or NFL games,” says CCTV Sports’ director Zhang Bin.

“CCTV5+ are keen to broadcast an AFL game per week so that we can keep educating and developing the audience group to ensure the sport has an opportunity to grow here in China.

“We want our audiences to explore different countries, cultures and sport lifestyles through watching a variety of ‘olive ball’ shaped sports like AFL.

“As a result of AFL coverage on CCTV5+ we hope there will be more Chinese people in the future visiting Australia and experiencing the true Aussie spirit through their association with the sport.”

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