Livestreaming hosts are rewriting the rules

Thousands of miles away from the 2018 FIFA World Cup, tens of thousands of Chinese livestreaming hosts have set their biological clock to Russian time.

When it is midnight in Shanghai, 28-year-old Li Jin finally ends her hectic day of live World Cup commentary. Seven hours later, she will be up and about, ready for yet another busy work day.

During the competition she is commentating live from 5 pm to 11 pm on e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd's Taobao shopping site. On her livestream, she predicts the winner and recommends sports equipment and products to viewers. People who like the products can scroll up to purchase them.