China is one of the most important digital markets in sport. With hundreds of millions of active users across Weibo, WeChat, Douyin and Bilibili, it’s a market international federations (IFs) should consider within their strategies. But performing well there requires a very different approach to some western platforms.
So how are IFs actually doing on Chinese platforms? Based on analysis from our SportOnSocial International Federations 2026 report, we’re diving into the numbers…
Top 20 performers in 2025
Deep rooted sports continue to dominate Chinese platforms
The four top-ranked IFs remained unchanged – WTT, FIBA, BWF, FIFA. These sports benefit from deep-rooted fan bases in China built through participation, domestic leagues, national team success and longstanding broadcast visibility.
Success on Chinese platforms is strongly influenced by long-term fan culture and local relevance, making sustained presence and visibility critical for IFs seeking to grow in this market.
WeChat drives ISU into the top 5
ISU recorded the largest rise within the top 10, moving from #7 to #5 overall. The growth reflected stronger use of WeChat Channels, combining short video with live streaming and event updates.
WeChat’s sharing functionality allows content to spread quickly through close social circles and community groups, enabling IFs to reach broad and highly engaged audiences.
Top performers by platform
Challenges for IFs on Chinese platforms
Balancing localisation with global consistency:
China’s digital ecosystem requires IFs to rethink how they manage global brand presence. Chinese platforms often demand local expertise reflected in culturally relevant content. This presents a strategic decision for many IFs around how much to invest locally and how to balance in-house management with China-based agencies.
Maintaining global brand consistency while adapting to local audience behaviour is another challenge. IFs must deliver culturally relevant content while ultimately preserving their international identity. To do this, IFs may need to adapt their visual/design identity, language typography, tone of voice and cultural references.
Opportunities for IFs on Chinese platforms
China: a long-term growth market:
After the Olympics engagement declines on many platforms, yet Chinese platforms continued to grow +18% YoY, signalling sustained audience attention in “off-peak” periods. Engagement surged across major Chinese platforms: e.g. WeChat (+476%*), Weibo (+27%), Douyin (+11%). Confirming that Chinese audiences clearly remain highly active and reachable.
China represents a long-term growth market for Olympic sport. IFs that maintain a continuous presence between major competitions are better positioned to build loyal fan communities and sustain relevance over time. Winter IFs should continue to ride the Milano Cortina 2026 momentum so they can continue to grow post-Games.
Local storytelling drives audience growth:
IFs seeing the strongest performance in China are those moving beyond generic global content. Successful strategies focus on local storytelling, domestic partnerships specifically for Chinese audiences. Treat the market as a distinct digital ecosystem rather than simply extending your global content strategies to guarantee sustained attention.
Ecommerce & sponsorship activation:
We see Chinese platforms increasingly combining content, community and commerce within a single user journey.
This creates opportunities for IFs to connect audience engagement and content performance with commercial outcomes through merchandise, event promotion and/or locally tailored brand partnerships.
Emerging platforms expand the ecosystem:
New digital spaces are expanding beyond major platforms and creating additional opportunities to reach younger, highly engaged audiences.
RedNote is an algorithm-driven platform that rewards athlete lifestyle content and educational posts, helping connect sport with broader lifestyle narratives. It is particularly effective for niche sports as it allows IFs to reach highly targeted audiences within culturally relevant narratives.
Bilibili attracts younger audiences and favours longer-form content, making it well suited for behind-the-scenes and creator collaborations delivering deeper fan engagement. Its unique “Danmu” feature (live comment overlays) turns passive viewing into a real-time conversation to build community interactions and long-term brand loyalty.
More about SportOnSocial
SportOnSocial is the world’s only platform powered by a decade of exclusive behavioural data from the Olympic movement and our SportOnSocial reports rank sports properties based on their digital performance.
The SportOnSocial International Federations 2026 report is the 10th edition of SportOnSocial International Federations and explores how IF social media has evolved over the past decade, focussing on capturing attention and building memorability.
