MUMBAI: Manchester United is the world?s most popular club with 659 million global followers.

Kantar, which carried out a survey, found that football remains the world?s most popular sport, with 1.6 billion followers globally, reinforcing the results of a recent Fifa survey. For the survey, Kantar gathered 54,000 respondents from 39 countries.

The club?s commercial director Richard Arnold commented on the long-term strategy that has made Manchester United the number one club in the world?s number one sport: "Manchester United has built on a tradition of iconic players, iconic teams and iconic achievements -- Beckham, Busby, Benfica ?68. Now our games are broadcast to 1.15 billion households globally, to an audience of over four billion a year."

Since 2007, Manchester United has rolled out new approaches to reach fans. The connections to the club has grown exponentially: from the increase in TV viewership from two to four billion last season, to the demand from millions of media subscribers in 72 countries through media partnerships and to the way the footage of Wayne?s overhead kick echoed around the world on social media.

"With the DHL Champions Trophy tour we have seen that passion from our community of followers face to face in 38 cities across the globe, and there does not seem to be a beach or street in the world where you do not see the Aon and Nike shirt. This survey shows that our family of followers is going from strength to strength," Arnold said.

Manchester United has 71 million followers in Americas, 90 million in Europe 73 million in Middle East and Africa, 325 million in Asia-Pacific an 108 million in China.

The number of Manchester United followers globally has grown by 98 per cent since the previous survey in 2007. Manchester United?s family of followers is larger than the combined population of the US, Brazil and Mexico.

MUMBAI: Australia?s Beyond Distribution, one of the world?s leading independent television broadcast and digital media sales and marketing companies, has unveiled their line-up for MipTV, bringing a strong collection of new series and documentaries, ranging through factual, crime, lifestyle, children?s and history.

Beyond Distribution is representing the latest titles from continuing producer relationships, as well as welcoming four new production companies.

The slate includes ?Chuck?s Week Off: Mexico?, ?World?s Weirdest Restaurants?, ?The Twitch?, ?Vintage Hunter?, ?Obsessions? and ?Highway Cops?.

Buyers focused on Mipdoc will see a range of documentaries from Beyond, including ?Hero Dogs of 9/11?, ?Gallipoli From Above?, ?Programmed To Be Fat?, ?Generation Boomerang?, ?Chuckmas? and ?Charlotte: A Life Without Limbs?.

Eighty hours of returning series will also debut at next month?s television trade event in Cannes, France, including ?Hot Property?, ?Behind Mansion Walls? and ?The Holiday Show?.

Beyond Distribution head of acquisitions Yvonne Body commented, ?We are really happy to have so many new and returning programmes from producers we already work with, as well as welcoming some new companies to the Beyond fold. Once again Beyond has all bases covered in the range of programmes we are releasing.

"We?re particularly excited to be able to introduce Chuck Hughes in person at Mip to the buyers who have been airing Chuck?s Day Off, and will hopefully be adding Chuck?s Week Off: Mexico and Chuckmas to their schedules. I?ve eaten at his restaurant in Montreal, so know that they?re in for a treat at his cooking demonstration in Cannes.?