When Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup trophy on Monday, the 2026 tournament came to an end, and so did Xiaohongshu’s first full-scale World Cup broadcasting effort. Over 39 days and 104 matches, the platform’s coverage marked not only its debut in premium sports rights but also a major test of its ambitions in long-form video and livestreaming.
During the World Cup, daily searches for football-related content tripled compared with the previous tournament, according to Xiaohongshu.
According to data released by the company, user time spent on Xiaohongshu doubled month over month in July during the tournament, while average viewing time for some matches exceeded 52 minutes.
For a platform best known for short-form videos, lifestyle posts, and product recommendations, the figures suggest that users were willing to spend considerably longer watching horizontal livestreams, showing how premium sports content can reshape viewing behavior.
Before the tournament began, Xiaohongshu was widely questioned over whether it could effectively capitalize on the traffic generated by a global football event. The company said football-related posts published on the opening day of the tournament were 27 times higher than during the opening day of the 2022 Qatar World Cup.
Football engagement also expanded through 1,390 communities that attracted more than 10 million participants. Some match discussion threads generated thousands of comments within a short period after the final whistle.
Rather than focusing solely on live match coverage, Xiaohongshu leveraged its community-driven content ecosystem to extend conversations beyond the games themselves. In addition to tactical analysis from former football professionals and commentators such as Fan Zhiyi and Xie Hui, users also shared content ranging from football fashion and watch-party setups to skincare tips for late-night matches, memes, and team culture.
The mix of professional analysis and lifestyle-oriented content broadened the platform’s World Cup coverage and encouraged participation from casual fans as well as dedicated football followers.
The tournament also brought noticeable changes to Xiaohongshu’s user demographics. According to the company, male users accounted for around 60% of livestream viewers during the group stage, with the share rising to roughly 80% in the knockout rounds.
Some users who initially downloaded the app to watch the World Cup later began exploring other interest-based communities, including motorcycles, outdoor activities, and consumer electronics, suggesting that the event helped the platform reach audiences beyond its traditional user base.
Converting event-driven traffic into long-term engagement remains a challenge for any content platform. Following the World Cup, Xiaohongshu introduced content from 12 domestic football competitions, including Shanghai Street Super League, Jiangsu Super League, and Guizhou Village Super League, in an effort to sustain user interest in football beyond the international tournament.
For Xiaohongshu, the World Cup represented a large-scale experiment in expanding its content ecosystem. The event demonstrated the platform’s ability to support long-duration livestreaming while broadening both its content mix and user demographics.
Whether the combination of livestreaming, community discussions, and interest-based content can translate into sustained user retention is still uncertain, but the World Cup has provided an early case study of how the platform is approaching long-form content.
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