Ratings for the soccer World Cup
Millions of Germans are rooting for Qatar
By Martin Morcinek
12/01/2022, 3:09 p.m
The football World Cup in Qatar is developing into the biggest TV spectacle of the year: the number of TV viewers in Germany is increasing significantly. According to preliminary information, at least 17.1 million people watched the game against Spain.
Rarely has a sporting event been as controversial in advance as the World Cup in Qatar. How is audience interest developing in Germany? Data from audience research paints a clear picture: Measured by the viewing figures on television, World Cup fever is clearly increasing.
Only about 6.2 million people in Germany watched the opening match between Qatar and Ecuador, according to preliminary information from the television research association AGF. For a TV event of this magnitude on a dull Sunday afternoon at the end of November, the market share of 28.2 percent was a rather meager result.
On the other hand, the situation was different when the German national soccer team played for the first time: in the defeat against Japan, around 9.2 million Germans were already sitting in front of the television – even though the game was in the middle of the week in the early afternoon. The game started at 2:00 p.m. The majority of football fans were probably still busy at work at this point. Compared to the German team’s previous World Cup games, these were unusually weak numbers. The 2002, 2006 and 2010 World Cup tournaments also had kick-off times in the early afternoon. At that time, however, the ratings were much higher, sometimes even up to 87 percent.
A notice: All games, all results of the World Cup at ntv.de
The second game of the 2022 World Cup with German participation was in prime time at eight o’clock in the evening. The interest of the television viewers was probably not only because of this much stronger. Can the German team survive against the strong Spaniards? According to AGF, 17.053 million Germans tuned in to the 1-1 draw against Spain. The market share was significantly higher at just under 49 percent, but the broadcast slot on Sunday evening was also more competitive.
TV ratings are influenced by a number of different factors. In addition to the time and day of the week of the broadcast, the season and the weather also play a major role. Direct comparisons with previous World Cup broadcasts are difficult: unlike before, the football World Cup in Qatar will take place in the winter half-year this time. Public viewing events or barbecue parties with television are no longer necessary.
The range researchers initially measure viewer interest in home TV sets. The provisional AGF data does not yet contain any information on TV transmissions in the non-linear area, e.g. in streaming offers and in media libraries. A completely different factor is decisive for the further development of the World Cup quotas in Germany anyway: The sporting performance of the German team alone will decide whether enthusiasm for the World Cup in Germany will continue to increase or not.