Amid Real Madrid's boycott: Chinese channel removes Barcelona's name from the blacklist
Chinese screens have slammed shut on Real Madrid over the Kylian Mbappé crisis. Barcelona have emerged as the biggest winners from Beijing's split blackout decision, keeping the Catalans in front of hundreds of millions of Chinese fans.
"Mundo Deportivo" revealed the details of the new agreement over how the Spanish league will be broadcast in China. The report landed just days after Mbappé lit the fuse by branding the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong a "dictator", a comment that cost him and Real Madrid several sponsorship deals and triggered an official apology that was rejected.
According to the Spanish newspaper, La Liga president Javier Tebas worked with the Chinese ambassador to Spain to limit the damage and head off a total blackout. The result? Two contradictory decisions from the two platforms that hold the rights.
Barcelona survives: Real pays the price
China Media Group, owner of the official channel CCTV, took the hardest line. It temporarily suspended the broadcast of every Spanish league match, deeming Mbappé's statements "offensive to the Chinese people and exceed the limits of freedom of expression", and it rejected the apologies offered by the player and his club.
A representative of the Chinese group issued a stark warning: "We will listen to his words, but we will watch his actions closely."
Migu took a very different route. The platform, owned by telecommunications giant China Mobile and holder of the La Liga rights until 2030, chose a selective path that plays straight into Barcelona's hands.
The company announced it would continue to broadcast "the entire championship, with the exception of the matches in which Real Madrid participate".
In practice, that keeps Barcelona and the rest of La Liga's clubs available to Chinese viewers through Migu. Only Real Madrid's matches will go dark, whether in the league or in the other competitions the platform carries.
Barcelona thus come out of the Mbappé earthquake with the fewest scars of any of the big teams. They keep their vast marketing and fan presence in the Asian market while their great rivals vanish from the screens, handing the Catalan club an unexpected commercial and media edge at the very heart of the crisis.
