2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™
Global broadcast and audience summary

Continue2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™
Global broadcast and audience summary
Click to selectMethodology

Matchaudience

Globaloverview

Consumption

Audience
reachAppendix

Methodology
The majority of schedules and audience data contained within thisreport was sourced by Publicis Media Sport & Entertainment(PMSE) from the official television auditing agencies in markets,
via the FIFA Media Rights Licensees (MRLs).
The current household television penetration figures wereconfirmed via the same source for the majority of MRLs. If datawas not made available by the MRLs then it was either sourced
via the Publicis Media network of offices or ordered from official
television auditing agencies within the market.
It is worth noting that several territories have audiencemeasurement panels which do not cover the entire territory. Insuch cases, the audiences have been up-weighted using officiallymeasured data in conjunction with population and television
penetration information to account for the entire territory.

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Where channels remain completely unrated, PMSE haveestimated viewing with reference to average ratings for similar
broadcasts in the same region. Factors taken into account for
estimates included: channel type, programme type and time ofday.
In territories for which MRLs were unable to supply ratings data orschedules, PMSE have estimated levels of coverage withreference to pre-tournament broadcast schedules and toschedules in similar territories (for example, other territories
covered by the MRL).
Reach data has been projected for territories in which audited
figures were not available. PMSE’s projections make use of therelationship between build of consumption and build of reach inrated markets. Uplift to reach, from digital and out-of-home (OOH)
viewing, has been estimated using research carried out in 22
markets by Nielsen on behalf of FIFA.
3

Over half of the global population saw
coverage of the FIFA World Cup
Total reach(billions)In-home TV viewers

3.262

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Out-of-home and (or)digital-only viewers

Total
0.310 3.572

An estimated 3.572 billion people watched some official broadcast coverage of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™.
Over half (51.3%) of the global population (aged 4 years and over) were captured.
There were an estimated 309.7 million people who did not watch coverage in home but did see coverage on digitalplatforms, in public viewing areas or in bars & restaurants.
Note – “total” refers to in-home viewing, out-ofThis represents an uplift of 9.5% on the linear TV audience.
home viewing and digital platform reach combined
4The final was seen live by
1.12 billion people

4
Live global
1-minute Reach

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versus
884.37
millionIn-home TV viewers+Menu

231.82
millionOut-of-home and (or)digital-only viewers=

1,116.19
millionFranceCroatia

Average audience - 19.93 million
TV rating - 34.6%
Share of viewing - 86.7%
1-minute reach – 24.64 million
Est. OOH & digital audience – 6.11 million

Average audience - 1.54 million
TV rating - 39.2%
Share of viewing - 88.6%
1-minute reach - 1.84 million
Est. OOH & digital audience – 0.46 million
5In-home viewers engaged withcoverage for longer in 2018
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1 minute
3 minutes

3.26bnviewers+2.2%

3.19bnviewers2.74bn
3.04bnviewers
viewers+10.9%

20 minutes

2.65bn2.13bnviewers
viewers+24.4%

30 minutes

1.95bn2.49bnviewers
viewers+27.7%

Almost 3.3 billion viewers watched at least one minute of 2018
FIFA World Cup Russia™ coverage on linear TV, up 2.2% on
2014.
Significant increases in the longer reach criteria, the number ofviewers to have watched for at least 30 consecutive minutes
went up by 27.7%.
Viewer retention (percentage of viewers who watched one
minute of coverage and then went on to watch for a longer
period) was up significantly on 2014. 81.2% of viewers whowatched one minute went on to watch for at least 20 minutes(vs. 66.8% in 2014), whilst 76.4% watched for at least 30 (v.
61.1% in 2014).

Note – figures refer to in-home viewing only
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There was an unprecedented level ofviewing on digital platforms

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Some digital viewing highlights:
In Russia 4 million unique users accessed Channel One’s digital coverage of the Russia v. Croatia quarter-final,
almost four times the total of the top match in 2014 (1.3 million for Brazil v. Germany). Across all three broadcasters
in Russia there were 171 million video views of 2018 FIFA World CupTM content.
In China CCTV’s digital platform CNTV received 6.5 billion views for simulcast and VOD coverage, seven times the figure
achieved in 2014. Digital sublicensees Migu and Youku received a further 4.4 billion and 2.5 billion views respectively.
38 million unique users accessed digital content on the owned and operated digital platforms of FOX in the USA,generating 60 million hours of viewing. NBC-Telemundo (Spanish language) apps and websites generated a further
30 million hours of viewing.
In the UK over 2 million unique users saw coverage of Sweden v. England on the BBC’s digital platforms, almost double
the peak from 2014 (1.1 million for Brazil v. Germany). In total the BBC and ITV generated 255 million video views andover 52 million hours of viewing.

Despite not being involved in the tournament, 0.43 million unique users in Italy watched live coverage of the final on
Mediaset’s website. Italy v. Uruguay, the top performing match for broadcaster RAI in 2014, had only 0.28 million
unique users.
*Note – digital viewing figures are yet to be finalised in some territories,
global figures will be made available in the final broadcast report7Top ten most watched matches(global live average audience)

Note – figuresrefer to in-homeviewing only

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RankMatchStage

Global live audience(millions)1

France v. Croatia

Final

516.6

2

Croatia v. EnglandSemi-final

327.5

3

France v. Belgium

Semi-final

314.6

4

Spain v. Russia

Round of 16

306.4

5

France v. Argentina

Round of 16

301.8

6

Germany v. Mexico

Group F289.5

7

Brazil v. MexicoRound of 16

289.2

8Brazil v. Belgium

Quarter-final

280.8

9Uruguay v. France

Quarter-final

265.8

10

Germany v. SwedenGroup F

261.1
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In-home viewing increased inseveral regions
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Africa and the Middle East saw the largest increase in in-home reach, likely
influenced by there being 5 competing teams from the region (Morocco, Tunisia,Egypt, Saudi Arabia and IR Iran) compared to just two in 2014.
1-minute reach down slightly in Europe, likely reflecting the absence of Italy andNetherlands, and unexpected early exit of the German national team.

1-minute reach down by -7.3% in Asia, but longer reach criteria performed
better (20-minute reach was up by 41.7%), suggesting that although fewer
people watched coverage they were more likely to watch for longer.
Reach was up in South America, driven by increased population in the region,increased interest in Peru (which qualified for the first time in 36 years), andearly kick-off times meaning viewers were more likely to watch at home thanout-of-home.
Decline of reach in North, Central America and Caribbean influenced by thefailure of the US national team to qualify for the tournament.
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Region

FWC Russia
2018

FWC Brazil
2014%
difference

Africa & Middle
East

537.0m323.1m+66.2%

Asia

1,415.7m

1,526.5m-7.3%

Europe661.3m

676.0m-2.2%

N. C. America &Caribbean

277.2m321.0m

-13.6%

Oceania

14.8m

17.6m

-15.9%South America

355.9m326.6m+9.0%

GLOBAL TOTAL

3,261.9m

3,190.8m+2.2%
9Asia contributed the most viewers
to the total reach (inc. all viewing)lkasjfdkljAlmost 1.6 billion
43.7% individuals in Asia were reached byWorld Cup coverage (either by in-home linear TV,
digital platforms or out-of-home), accounting for43.7% of global reach.
20.0%

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Global reach
3.564 billion
10.7%

0.5%

16.6%

Africa & Middle
East

1,559.2

Asia

8.6%

316.6%of the top 5 territories contributing to global reachwere in Asia (China PR, Indonesiaand India). China
8.6%
PR was the territory to contribute by far the largest
portion of reach with 655.7 million viewers (18.4% ofthe global total).

590.1

Europe

711.7
380.4

306.2

20.0%
Africa and the Middle East accounted for 16.6% of
global reach, driven by broadcasting in the MENA
region which produced 261.2 million viewers (44.3%
of the total for the region).

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North, Central
America &Caribbean
Oceania

16.7

Number of viewers
reached (millions)
43.7%

South America

10Proportionately, the most viewers werecaptured in South America and Europe
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Africa & Middle East

54.1%

AsiaEurope

38.4%
86.1%

North, Central America &Caribbean

56.0%

Oceania

44.0%%South America

Percentage of population that
saw televised FWC coverageon any platform

51.3% of global
population

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The regions in which the highest proportionof potential viewers were reached wereSouth America (96.6%) and Europe(86.1%). In contrast only 38.4% of the Asian
population were reached by World Cup
coverage, reflecting relatively lower
interest in the Indian subcontinent.
9 of the top 10 territories in terms ofpercentage of population reached were in
South America or Europe, all of which hadteams competing in the tournament.

96.6%

11Average live match audience bycompetition stageNext

Average global live audience of 2018 FWC Russia
was 191 million viewers, a slight (2.1%) increase overthe 2014 tournament average of 187 million viewers .

Average live match audience (millions)64-match average

191
187

+2.1%
517

Final

545

236

Third place play-off-17.4%

287

321

Semi-finals

380

261

Quarter-finals

265

246

Round of 16
Group stage

227

162
156

+3.8%

-1.5%

+8.4%

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-5.1%

The average audience of the group-stage and roundof-16 matches eclipsed those achieved in 2014 by
3.8% and 8.4% respectively, reflecting stronginterest during the early part of the tournament.
Audiences for the quarter-finals were in line withthose achieved in 2014.

-15.5%
Live audiences of the semi-finals, third place play-off
and final were lower than in 2014, reflecting the sizeof the territories involved (Belgium, Croatia, Englandand France compared to Argentina, Brazil, Germanyand Netherlands) and the fact that only one global
region was represented in 2018 (Europe), perhaps
limiting appeal in other regions.

FWC 2018
FWC 2014

Note – figures refer to in-home viewing only12Europe and Asia account for majorityof World Cup hours consumed
Globallkasjfdklj
consumption:

Asia

14.9%

15.9%
0.2%
10.66 9.67

EuropeN. C. America &Caribbean

OceaniaSouth America

10.3%

5.17

5.52

3.56

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Asia consumed the most coverage (10.66bn viewer hours). 41%
of regional consumption derived from China, with a further 50%of the total produced in just 6 territories (Indonesia, Japan,Vietnam, India, Korea Republic and Thailand).

34.66bn viewer hours
Africa & Middle EastNext

Europe produced the second-highest consumption overall(9.67bn viewer hours), but actually produced more live match
consumption than Asia (7.92bn viewer hours v. 7.80 bn),reflecting more favourable kick-off times for the region.

0.07

Viewer hours (billions)

27.9%

30.8%

26.2% of consumption was produced by broadcasters in theAmericas (compared to 43.5% of total coverage hours). Brazil
accounted for 31.3% of hours consumed across the two regions.
Globo, the free-to-air channel in Brazil, enjoyed by far thehighest average audiences of any channel, with the averagehour netting 23.7 million viewers (Channel One Russia wassecond with 14.3 million).

13Consumption up in Asia and Europe
despite small global decline
RegionFWC
Russia2018

FWC
Brazil2014%
difference

FWC hours
watched perviewer

Africa & Middle
East

5.17bn7.67bn-32.5%

9.6

Asia

10.66bn

8.24bn+29.4%

7.5

Europe9.67bn9.10bn

+6.2%

14.6

N. C. America &Caribbean

3.56bn3.85bn

-7.5%

12.9

Oceania

0.07bn0.11bn-33.0%

4.8

South America

5.52bn7.55bn-26.9%

15.5

GLOBAL TOTAL

34.66bn

36.52bn

-5.1%

10.6

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Globally 2018 FWC Russia produced 34.66bn viewer
hours, marking a 5.1% decline compared to 2014(36.52bn).

The largest regional increase was seen in Asia(+29.4%), driven by 10 live matches that took place inprime time for East Asian viewers (in 2014 no live
coverage started before 23:30 China Standard Time).
Decreases were seen in both regions of the Americas,
possibly due to the less favourable time zone for live
matches. Consumption in the 2014 host market of
Brazil was down by 1.17 billion viewer hours, accountingfor over half of the decline in South America.

14Appendix –hours of coverage by region
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Global coverage
90,424 hours
Africa & Middle
EastNextMenu

43.5% of all coverage hours aired in the Americas, despite thetwo regions representing only 13.5% of the global population.

16.4%

29.3% of global coverage aired in South America, of which
90.0% was on pay TV (including 14,932 hours on DIRECTValone).

29.3%
26,461

Asia
14,787

Europe12,83718.2%

N. C. America &Caribbean

Oceania

In Africa and the Middle East 73% of coverage was on pay TV,
the second highest proportion after South America.

16,450 17,004

2,885

3.2%
Hours of coverage

In Asia and Europe coverage was primarily on free-to-air(FTA) broadcasters, which generally commit less time tocoverage of sports events than pay TV providers.

South America

14.2%
18.8%

Overall, coverage hours on TV were down by 7.8% on 2014.
However many factors can influence total coverage, such as achange in broadcaster in a market. Additionally broadcasters
increasingly support programming on digital platforms rather
than delivering extensive coverage on TV.
15Appendix – coverage and consumption
By broadcast type
Hours of coverage
37,755
41.8%

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Viewer hours (billions)
27.70
79.9%

28,39731.4%

24,272
26.8%

5.09

1.87
5.4%

Live

DelayedHighlights

Live match Delayed/
repeatcoverage

Highlights

Live

14.7%

DelayedHighlights

Live match Delayed/
repeatcoverage

Highlights
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Appendix – coverage and consumption
Free-to-air v. pay TV

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Hours of coverage

Viewer hours (millions)

Total hours: FTA - 34,415 / PAY - 56,009

Total viewer hours: FTA - 29.02bn/ PAY - 5.64bn

Total

Africa & Middle East
Asia

38.1%

27.0%

North, Central America &Caribbean
OceaniaSouth America

Total

73.0%

Africa & Middle East

76.4%
39.8%

23.6%
60.2%

55.3%
10.0%

90.0%

FTA TV

46.9%

16.3%

53.1%

91.0%

9.0%

Europe

95.5%

4.5%

North, Central America &Caribbean

44.7%

83.7%

Asia

50.8%

49.2%

Europe

61.9%

81.0%

19.0%

Oceania

94.3%

5.7%

South America

85.2%

14.8%

PAY TV
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