Market share of 69 percent
DFB opening victory draws more people to TV than any World Cup game in 2022
15.06.2024, 10:30 a.m.
The German national football team is not only making a successful start to the European Championships at home, but also has millions of viewers behind them. More than 22 million people tune in to ZDF alone. This significantly exceeds the numbers for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
The national football team’s furious start to the European Championships has ensured top ratings on ZDF. 22.49 million viewers watched the DFB selection’s 5:1 win against Scotland on ZDF on Friday evening. According to AGF video research, the public broadcaster achieved a market share of 69 percent. The successful start of national coach Julian Nagelsmann’s selection in the home European Championships was also broadcast by MagentaTV. Telekom does not publish viewing figures for its streaming service, but is likely to have benefited from the euphoria.
ZDF immediately exceeded the ratings for the German team’s games at the World Cup in Qatar. In late autumn 2022, 17.43 million people watched the tournament exit in the last group game against Costa Rica, the highest TV rating for the controversial World Cup. Previously, 17.05 million people watched the Germans’ preliminary round match against Spain (1:1/MA: 49.3 percent). The first German World Cup preliminary round match against Japan (1:2) was watched live by 9.23 million (MA: 59.7 percent) on ARD.
However, the best ratings in 2022 were recorded by the women’s European Championship final. The live broadcast of the final between Germany and England (1:2) at Wembley Stadium was even the most watched television program of the entire year with 17.952 million viewers.
All 51 European Championship matches can only be seen on MagentaTV
At the 2021 European Championship, each of the four German games had a rating of more than 20 million, and the round of 16 defeat against England was watched by as many as 27.36 million people. The records of the 2014 World Cup remained unmatched, with 34.65 million viewers watching Germany’s final victory over Argentina.
Anyone who wants to watch all 51 games of the 2024 European Championship will have to access MagentaTV, Telekom’s pay-TV offering. However, 46 of the 51 games will also be shown on free TV by ARD, ZDF and RTL. Only five matches, including a round of 16 match, will be shown exclusively on Magenta. The first will be on matchday one, when Germany’s group opponents Hungary and Switzerland meet.
In addition, RTL is working closely with Magenta during the European Championship and is broadcasting twelve games live. ARD and ZDF each hold the TV rights to 17 games. These include all of the German national team’s games, which is why the opening game on ZDF was a ratings hit. ARD, on the other hand, is looking forward to the final on June 14 in Berlin. All highlights from the tournament’s 51 games will also be available 15 minutes after the final whistle on RTL+ and shortly afterwards on ntv.de.