Women’s World Cup scores early record TV viewing in key markets
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*Record Women’s World Cup group stage TV figures in Canada, U.S. and Japan
*Several key TV markets see improvement on 2011 edition of tournament
Television audiences for the FIFA Women’s World Cup Canada 2015™ have surged in several territories during the group stage, as growing interest in the competition translates into record viewing figures in key markets.
FIFA’s YouTube channel, which shows content such as pre-match line-up graphics and live streaming of team press conferences, is also well on its way to its best-ever month in terms of traffic – thanks to the Women’s World Cup.
More TV viewers tuned in to watch the United States as the group stage progressed, with 5.0 million fans enjoying Fox’s coverage of the Nigeria v USA match. This was the most-watched Women’s World Cup group stage match and a record football match figure for Fox.
Host nation Canada has also achieved record figures. About 2.3 million watched Canada play New Zealand on CTV, TSN and RDS – the biggest Women’s World Cup TV audience in Canada.
“We have had some great viewing figures so far, thanks to increased interest in women’s football and promotion of the FIFA Women’s World Cup by our broadcast partners,” said Niclas Ericson, director of FIFA TV.
“We have increased our investment in the production for this edition of the event with more cameras per match delivering an unprecedented viewing experience for fans. We are optimistic that the positive trend in viewing figures will continue throughout the rest of the competition.”
Online, the FIFA YouTube channel has registered more than 7.5 million views so far, with 15 million minutes of content from the competition enjoyed so far.
The United States accounts for 35 percent of those views, with Canada (12 percent) and Japan (four percent) also showing an encouraging interest in online content from the competition.
In other TV viewing figures, China’s match against New Zealand drew an audience of 3.9 million on CCTV5, higher than any Chinese figures recorded in 2011.
France has also seen consistently growing TV audiences, culminating in a record audience for any programming for broadcaster W9 when 2.2 million viewers watched France play Mexico.
Japan’s clash with Cameroon drew an audience of 6.1 million viewers to FUJI TV, beating all figures from the 2007 and 2011 editions of the Women’s World Cup, apart from the 2011 final.
Details of TV figures for the FIFA Women’s World Cup can be found on the FIFA Media Channel.