World Cup Final Viewed by 313 Million

LONDON, July 19: According to data from ZenithOptimedia, the
World Cup final between France and Italy on July 9 was watched by 313 million
viewers in 56 countries.

ZenithOptimedia’s specialist consultancy Sponsorship
Intelligence (SI) is the official provider of 2006 World Cup audiences figures
to both FIFA and its television agency, Infront.

The largest audience was in China, where viewership peaked
at 71.5 million, followed by Brazil, Germany, Vietnam, Indonesia, France,
Russia, the U.K., Japan and Italy.

ZenithOptimedia noted record audiences in host nation
Germany, with an average match viewership of 11.8 million. The cumulative
audience was 658 million, a 141-percent increase on the 2002 World Cup.
Germany’s 2-0 loss to Italy in the semi-finals was watched live by 29.7 million
viewers in the host nation.

Viewership in Asia was also noteworthy, despite the time
difference, with four Asian nations (China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan)
ranking in the top ten for audience totals. They accounted for 49 percent of
viewing among the top eleven. Japan did, however, see a 64-percent fall
compared to 2002 audience levels. In China, the cumulative audience fell 58
percent compared to 2002, when the matches were broadcast in prime time and
China had qualified for the World Cup for the first time.

Viewership in the U.S. peaked at just 9.4 million, but the
cumulative audience of 235 million was 48-percent up on 2002 and 55-percent up
on 1998. This was largely the result Univision, whose broadcast of the
Argentina vs. Mexico match was the most-viewed sports broadcast in the history
of U.S. Spanish-language television, with 6.7 million viewers.

In the U.K., the BBC attracted 53 percent of the cumulative
audience, but ITV broadcast the highest-rated match: the 2-2 draw between
England and Sweden, which generated an audience of 18.8 million. The BBC’s best
audience was 16.3 million, with the match between England and Ecuador.

Largest World Cup television audiences in millions (2006)

Cumulative
audience Highest
audience

China 1,820
71.5

Brazil 1,140
60.5

Germany 658 29.7

Vietnam 650
29.8

Indonesia 589
23.5

France 388 22.2

Russia 369 12.9

U.K. 362
18.8

Japan 289
42.3

Italy 278
23.9