Qatar World Cup Sets Record-Breaking TV Audience
Now that we are in the knockout phase of the World Cup, football’s highest governing body, FIFA, has claimed that the tournament in the Gulf nation is already producing results. record-breaking audience over the world.
In the United States, coverage of the national team’s encounter against England set the record for the most-watched men’s soccer game ever in the country with a peak audience of 19.65 million viewers on FOX.
Also, NBC Universal’s Spanish language Telemundo coverage of the same game was the second watched World Cup group stage encounter in Spanish language history.
Clash in Mexico breaks records
In neighboring Mexico, the national team drew a national audience of 20.96 million viewers in the group stage match against Argentina.
This accounted for a 67.9% share across all broadcast channels, which was significantly higher than any televised match of the 2018 World Cup held in Russia.
The Albiceleste won the encounter 2-0, keeping their tournament hopes alive with 8.48 million viewers watching their favorite stars at home in Argentina.
A similar pattern was seen in Europe, with staggering viewership numbers.
Spain and Germany attract European viewers
More than 11.9 million viewers tuned in to the draw between Spain and Germany in what was arguably the most anticipated group stage clash.
65% of people watched Luis Enrique’s side take on the Germans, a viewership record that surpassed all group stage matches held in Russia four years ago.
In the Netherlands, more than three-quarters of the country also saw their team draw 1-1 against Ecuador, a record number of TV viewers in 2022.
Elsewhere in France, more than 14.6 million people witnessed Kylian Mbappé’s late winner against Denmark. This was just a shade above the 14 million viewers who also tuned in for Les Blues’ 4-1 opening win over Australia.
With Asian teams doing well, it came as no surprise that World Cup fever is running high on the continent.
Over 36.37 million viewers watched Japan’s narrow 1-0 defeat to Costa Rica after the Asian side shocked Germany 2-1 in their opening game. This was 74% higher than the average group stage crowd at the World Cup four years ago.
In South Korea, 11.14 million people also watched Uruguay’s 0-0 draw. This was a stunning 97% increase in audience compared to group stage matches in Brazil 2014 and 18% higher in Russia 2018.
Photo credit: IMAGO/Wolfgang Maria Weber
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