Real Madrid took on bitter rivals Barcelona in the first El Clasico of the season at a peak time for the Chinese audience. The La Liga game at Madrid's Bernabeu stadium was an afternoon kick-off rather than the traditional evening match in Spain.

It's all part of the Spanish league's attempt to grab a bigger slice of the lucrative revenue from the Asian market.

Early El Clasico

Traditionally this game would kick off around 8 p.m. or 9 p.m. as that is prime viewing time in Spain, where people usually eat and go out to bars later than people living in northern Europe.

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But this game kicked off at 16:15 local time (15:15 GMT), which is a more comfortable time for fans in Asia to watch the match as it was 10.15 p.m. in China.

La Liga says its fans in Asia are just as important as its fans here in Spain, and in the organization's words, no fan is better than the other.

CGTN Europe spoke to Marca newspaper journalist Juan Castro. He questioned how successful the tactic had been since the first Asia-friendly kick-off in 2017.

"It's a really important market for La Liga, but I don't know how effective the strategy has been. What Asian football fans tell me is the Premier League is still way more popular over there than La Liga. I think the gap is not as big now as in the past. Over the last few years, it has narrowed," he said.

Spanish fans outside the Santiago de Bernabeu in Madrid thought the move was unpopular but there was also a grudging acceptance that it was necessary.

"This kick-off time is harder for us. I would prefer the usual times of 7 p.m. or 8 p.m. That's better for us Spanish fans," said one man.

Another added: "I understand that these times are meant to attract the Asian market and that they like El Clasico, but it would be better for us to have a game in the evening, a lot more fans could come to the stadium."

Challenging EPL's Asia Dominance

La Liga is still way behind the English Premier League (EPL) in terms of TV audience share in Asia.

But while the EPL is more focused on the traditional platform of television, La Liga has concentrated on streaming services and social media to increase its profile in Asia.

This season it launched its streaming app in China, LaLiga Plus, also La Liga is now the most followed league on social media in China.

La Liga bosses will be hoping to see that gap between itself and the English Premier League eventually close.