by sportswriter Liu Yang
FUZHOU, March 30 (Xinhua) -- In an age of live-streaming and algorithmically fed video clips, play-by-play live texting in sports might seem old-fashioned. Yet in China, it is not only surviving but also thriving, as millions still follow games through words online.
ENDURING CHARM OF WORDS
While video dominates the broader sports media market, text-based live coverage has carved out a resilient niche, offering something moving images often do not: community, efficiency and the imaginative thrill of the sporting moment.
For platforms like Hupu, one of China's largest online sports communities, the nature of live texting has shifted dramatically as the industry grows.
"During the early days, we offered text coverage because video streaming wasn't widespread then, and data costs were high," said Sun Hao, Hupu's deputy director of operations. "Now, the logic is completely different."
That shift is reflected in the numbers. According to Sun, during last year's NBA playoffs, Game 7 between the Houston Rockets and the Golden State Warriors drew millions of users simultaneously to Hupu's text-based game feed.
At sports information portal Zhibo8, NBA and European football saw around 200,000 online viewers per game, with marquee matches reaching roughly two million, said chief editor Zhang Songhao.
Live texting is common in professional leagues. UEFA's website provides live text commentary the Champions League, Europa League and Nations League, while German news outlets such as Kicker and Bild maintain similar services for club and international matches.
Behind these feeds is a group of "keyboard commentators". Hupu's text team includes full-time staff, freelancers and dedicated amateurs covering basketball and football, while Zhibo8 has a 15-member team covering football, basketball, tennis, snooker, table tennis and Formula One.
PLATFORM TO BUILD COMMUNITY
Platform data show typical play-by-play text users fall into a recognizable profile: office workers and students, overwhelmingly male.
"I can't watch videos at work. It would disrupt my work and disturb my colleagues. So I glance at the text updates when I can," said a fan surnamed Wen, who works in south China's Shenzhen.
Industry insiders say the real draw lies less in the information than in the community it creates. Many fans now run video and text streams side by side, watching a live broadcast on one screen while participating in chat on the other.
"Fans need a place to discuss the game in real time, to interact, even to vent," said a commentator known as Wu Niu, who hosts text coverage for Hupu. "A text-based chat room is often more convenient for that than a video platform's comment section."
Zhang put it more bluntly: fans treat live-streaming as a tool, but with text, they become part of a community.
SPEED AND STYLE
Text coverage competes on efficiency. Hupu requires its hosts to type at least 150 characters per minute, with the fastest reaching 330. For fans tracking statistics or identifying details sometimes lost in the flow of video, text offers clarity.
Beyond speed and precision, text also provides literary texture. Some experienced hosts have developed signature styles that lend games a novelistic quality, what Sun called "an imaginative space that video can't replace."
For Bao, following a match by text feels like reading a martial arts novel.
"You read every move. The text gives you rhythm, and imagining the action gives you a special kind of excitement," he said.
WILL LIVE TEXTING FADE?
Whether text-based coverage can survive the next wave of technological change, particularly the rise of AI, remains an open question.
Wen, who has a child, expressed doubt about whether the next generation of fans will embrace text.
"Kids today are deeply influenced by short videos," he said. "Their sensitivity to text is declining, as is their ability to express abstract ideas through words."
Platform managers, however, see persistence ahead. For them, text and video are not competitors but complements. Video delivers an immersive sensory experience, while text offers depth, interaction and a sense of shared presence.
Sun predicted that AI will enable more sophisticated, personalized experiences, with virtual assistants collecting statistics, surfacing key moments and connecting like-minded users.
"New technologies are about expanding choices, not immediately replacing what came before," said Su Junbin, a media development expert from Xiamen University. "The future of text coverage isn't about being eliminated. It's about whether it can evolve to serve people's needs for information and connection." ■
