FIFA and NBA left behind. Barcelona sets new sports YouTube record

Barcelona has shattered a new digital milestone: the club's YouTube channel has become the world's most popular sports account, amassing 23.8 million subscribers. Previously, the Blaugrana overtook Real Madrid and Liverpool, and this summer, thanks to their Asian tour, the club surged past both FIFA and the NBA.

Marca notes that the main driver behind this audience growth was the club's commercial activity during the preseason. Initially, Barcelona streamed their training camp matches for free on the Barça One platform for registered users. However, ahead of the match against Vissel Kobe, the club abruptly introduced a €9.90 pay-per-view fee on YouTube, sparking frustration among fans. Due to access issues, the management eventually reverted to free broadcasts, which led to a massive spike in subscribers.

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The Joan Gamper Trophy match against Como drew particular attention: the broadcast attracted 18.7 million views and more than 1.8 million concurrent viewers. In China, the game was streamed on the local Douyin platform, where views surpassed one million.

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Thus, Barcelona's Asian tour turned out to be not only a series of friendly matches but also a large-scale digital project that propelled the club to number one in the world for sports content on YouTube.