American Football Game in Harbin

[michaelk]

Hi there,

Just curious if anyone can tell me of a bar, pub or hotel in Harbin that will be showing the Superbowl. I will be there as a tourist and if my team makes it to the big game I would like to watch it live. I believe it will be on at 7:00am Monday morning, if that changes things.

We are also staying at a hostel and I believe they have a TV. If they did, would it be common for the game to be aired on TV? Maybe its worth asking the owners?

I have searched a bit and not yet found any definitive answers, so I really appreciate your help with this.

Thanks in advance

[WestTexas]

The thing is no one besides Americans cares about American football, so it's not likely that they will be shown on TV. There is a very popular foreigner bar called "The Fox Pub" in Harbin, maybe you could email them to see if they are showing it.

[kdavid]

There aren't any bars here that will be open that early--at least there haven't been over the last 5 years. I doubt Allan will open fox or docks that early.

If you really want to watch the game, or any NFL games anytime in the future, I highly recommend NFL's Game Pass. I subscribed this season. It's phenomenal. Too bad my team blows.

[roddy]

Hotels may also have foreign TV channels - their bars might not be open at that hour, but if you get a few friends together and split the cost of a room, you can save on bar prices for beer.

[abcdefg]

We are also staying at a hostel and I believe they have a TV. If they did, would it be common for the game to be aired on TV?

The answer to this question is a resounding No. The Superbowl is not an international event and nobody except a few Americans care about watching it.

Following up Roddy's idea, Shangri-La and Holiday Inn in Harbin both had international cable TV last time I was there, but booking a room at either will cost you 1,000 Yuan plus.

[kdavid]

The Superbowl is not an international event

I'm bickering as an annoying American only because I'm a huge fan of the sport, but, actually, the NFL has done games in London since 2007, all of which have been a very big success. Sky Cable, in Britain, also shows NFL games which are broadcast throughout the EU--I watched a lot of live football when I was in Prague for a year. NFL.com is also translated into several languages, including Chinese.

So, it actually is an international sport, albeit the fan base abroad is not nearly as big as it is in the States.

and nobody except a few Americans care about watching it.

"A few" is incorrect, as, on average, over 110 million Americans watch the Superbowl each year. That's roughly 1 in 3 Americans, which can hardly be said to be "a few".

but booking a room at either will cost you 1,000 Yuan plus.

The Playoffs Game Pass subscription during Wild Card week was 445 RMB. Now it's down to just over 300 RMB. If you wait until the Superbowl and buy a subscription just for that game, you'll likely only pay between 100 - 200 RMB. All you'll need is a computer with decent internet access.

[xiaoxiaocao]

I don't mind watching NFL but always found it strange how in domestic American sports (NBA, NFL etc) the winners are proclaimed ''world champions''.

[michaelk]

To help answer my own question I had to dig very deep and found some promising news.

Last year the superbowl was broadcast on CCTV5, Dragon TV, BTV Sports, G-Sports, Chongqing TV Sports, as well as streamed live on CNTV5+, sina.com.cn and QQ.com.

How do I know this? I found out from

this article at nfl.com. Last paragraph. Check it out NFL fans.

What are the odds that the hostel I am staying at has just one of these broadcast TV channels? Pretty good, I imagine. I dont even care if its in english or not, I just want to watch Green Bay play ball, that is, if they make it that far.

The Superbowl is not an international event and nobody except a few Americans care about watching it.

I disagree. Looking back to the year 2010, they aired 32 games as well as other NFL content on Chinese stations. They have been doing it for years. While I haven't found any more recent articles I would imagine they are going to keep it up after doing it for 5 years straight.

I don't mind watching NFL but always found it strange how in domestic American sports (NBA, NFL etc) the winners are proclaimed ''world champions''.

I see your point and agree to an extent. Particularly with baseball. I think baseball is enough of a world sport that the USA should join in the actual world baseball rather than calling our championship a "World Series".

Thank you all for the conversation. I would love to hear any recent updates on the superbowl or other NFL broadcasts. Even better if anyone can confirm previous broadcasts on the stations listed above.

[YuehanHao]

In a few American sports a "worldly connotation" is generally associated with the championship (e.g., MLB, NBA), although really not so much for the NFL. But perhaps this usage is not so strange when considering the sports where such a title is awarded were typically invented in America, and at the time such titles were coined, there would naturally have been little dispute. Now that some of these sports have long since proliferated beyond national borders, I can understand that this traditional usage may appear as antiquated. I honestly don't know terribly much about international sports but based on limited experience am not sure our provincial usage has grown completely unseemly as yet - presumably because the rest of the world focuses on other pastimes, such as a more universal version of football, and so forth. (Note here that, to my knowledge, the winner of our MLS naturally does not claim a "world champion" title!)

In any case, the title "National Champion" is traditionally reserved for American college athletic competitions and so forth.

[WestTexas]

www.nflchina.com Streams all the games bro, also seems to be completely free.

[abcdefg]

If you wait until the Superbowl and buy a subscription just for that game, you'll likely only pay between 100 - 200 RMB. All you'll need is a computer with decent internet access.

www.nflchina.com Streams all the games bro, also seems to be completely free.

Those sure sound like the best ways to catch the big game. Appreciate the tips.

My earlier post was colored by the fact that personally I'm not a real big football fan even though I once was. My home team is the Dallas Cowboys and their star has not shined too bright for some time.

[歐博思]

"A few" is incorrect, as, on average, over 110 million Americans watch the Superbowl each year. That's roughly 1 in 3 Americans, which can hardly be said to be "a few".

Take away the interesting commercials, and watch that figure plummet!

[michaelk]

That NFLchina.com link was great. Thanks for that. I found the China NFL TV listings and had a quick question. Can anyone confirm which TV channels are represented by the logos below? Those are, according to the NFL, the channels which will broadcast the game.

I am really counting on getting it on TV. Streaming it online is my second option as I always have bad luck getting a stream that doesnt break up at the worst times.

Thanks everyone!

[kdavid]

I'm not sure about those logos. They're a bit too small.

As for Game Pass, it's been flawless this season. You're only likely to have issues if the connection is bad.

[icebear]

Take away the interesting commercials, and watch that figure plummet!

Those advertisers aren't spending all that money developing novel ads and airing them at the most expensive time possible because they want to entertain... its because they know so many American's watch the SuperBowl. In the US the SuperBowl is 'celebrated' in a way similar to Thanksgiving - slightly more beer, slightly trashier food, but a lot of friends and family gather around and make a day of eating, drinking, etc.

The answer to this question is a resounding No. The Superbowl is not an international event and nobody except a few Americans care about watching it.

As others have mentioned, this is resoundingly wrong. Around a third of American's watch the SuperBowl, and around one billion viewers worldwide are subscribed to channels that air the SuperBowl (according to the NFL). While I'll concede that viewership is primarily from American's (both at home and abroad), flatly stating there are no options to view it internationally is wrong.

I'll agree that it probably can't be considered an international sport in the sense of being played widely across many nations, but the fact that its championship game is broadcast so broadly (compared to international sports, like say, handball) show that its categorization as 'international' or not is irrelevant to whether or not it can be viewed abroad. As an American that's been abroad for the last 7 SuperBowls, and caught most of them (in different countries through Europe, South America and Asia) I can assure you it is widely available, for free.

[abcdefg]

As others have mentioned, this is resoundingly wrong. Around a third of American's watch the SuperBowl, and around one billion viewers worldwide are subscribed to channels that air the SuperBowl (according to the NFL).

Looks like I was wrong and should have kept my mouth shut on a topic I didn't really know that much about. Not the first time that has happened. When will I ever learn?

[歐博思]

Those advertisers aren't spending all that money developing novel ads and airing them at the most expensive time possible because they want to entertain

those commercials aren't meant to entertain?!!

But really, that figure wouldn't be nearly as high if it wasn't for the commercials. On one hand that's about the only time that the gals I know will sit down and watch a football game and the vast majority of my friends fit to a similar mold. Furthermore, they even get up to get snacks during the game so they can be there for the commercials. Of course, this could just be my experience. Lastly -- nothing against the many gals who do enjoy watching the game.

To OP, maybe you could search for a site that shows NFL games that isn't blocked, like the one WestTexas recommended?

[icebear]

those commercials aren't meant to entertain?!!

Nope. They're meant to sell products. If entertainment sells products (or stamp brands, more broadly), they do it through those means, but it isn't their primary objective.

I don't think the figure would drop much if the commercials were reduced; see viewership for football (soccer), with relatively little advertising (and it certainly isn't entertaining). The SuperBowl is a major sporting event, a huge share of grown men in the US watch it either through genuine interest or because its just fun to drink and gamble with their friends, and most spouses or girlfriends watch/tag along out of genuine interest or just because they can chat with the other captives.

[歐博思]

Of course selling products will always be #1, just that in my experience the gals amongst my friends and I would rather do something else together than watch a game, unless it is the superbowl where then they all gather around to watch the spectacle that is superbowl ads. Actually, I don't watch much football anyway, and wouldn't watch the superbowl at all if the commercials weren't so interesting. It's just unfortunate for OP that they will be in China where American football garners near zero interest compared to association football.

I noticed your profile says you are in Spain. Did you grow up there? If so, it is interesting to hear about opinions related to this since you have grown up in such a passionate football (soccer) environment.

What did you mean to "see viewership for football (soccer), with relatively little advertising (and it certainly isn't entertaining)" ? Viewership for association football worldwide is greater than for US football worldwide, as far as I am aware.