beIN MEDIA GROUP (“beIN”) is marking a World Cup™ victory of its own by revealing record viewership figures for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. beIN recorded more than 5.4 billion cumulative views throughout the month-long tournament on its flagship channel beIN SPORTS across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and 1.1 billion views on its official social media channels.

More record-breaking results have been set on @beINSPORTS_EN with the overall viewership of the @FIFAWorldCup #Qatar2022 reaching 5.4 billion - 242.8 million tuned in to watch Argentina be crowned champions & 1.1 billion views have been recorded on our social media channels! pic.twitter.com/Jnu9q3lfLQ

— beIN MEDIA GROUP (@beINMEDIAGROUP) December 26, 2022

The highly anticipated final match that ended with Argentina becoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ winners with a 4-2 victory on penalties against France, was watched by a staggering 242.8 million viewers on beIN SPORTS’ free-to-air channel. This figure equates to 68%, more than two-thirds, of the MENA’s total adult population and, when analysed per country, results show viewership was particularly strong in Qatar where 93% of the adult population tuned in. In Morocco 91% of adults watched, followed by Lebanon (89%), Algeria (79%), and Egypt (72%). Meanwhile, on its official YouTube channel, the final match drew in a cumulative viewership of 25 million with viewership peaking at 4.44 million during the penalty shootouts.

Overall viewership

The overall viewership across beIN’s 24-country coverage area across MENA for all matches is a 135% increase compared with the Qatar-based network’s broadcast of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™. The final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ attracted 88 million more viewers on beIN SPORTS than the final of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™. Average TV viewership per match throughout the tournament saw a significant rise in 2022 reaching 80.6 million, compared to that of 36.2 million for 2018’s coverage.

This year’s tournament – the first held in the Middle East – featured four teams from the Arab World: hosts Qatar, neighboring Saudi Arabia, and North African duo Tunisia and Morocco. Morocco’s Atlas Lions went the deepest, recording landmark victories over Spain and Portugal in the knock-out stages to become the first Arab – and first African – nation to reach a World Cup semi-final.

Figures from beIN

The figures from beIN, the exclusive FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ broadcast rights holder across 24 countries in MENA, show that aside from the final, the semi-final game that saw Morocco lose out on a spot in the final to France, earned record viewership of 186.1 million on beIN SPORTS. That equates to 52% per cent of the adult population in MENA and Iran tuning in for the match. These figures also show that 99% of the adult population of Morocco watched the African nation’s historic match live on beIN SPORTS; 82% of the adult population in Qatar watched the match on beIN SPORTS, 78% in Algeria, 75% in Tunisia, 67% in Lebanon and 63% in KSA.

The semi-final decider between Argentina and Croatia, drew in 166.3 million viewers across the region. The semi-final figures represent an increase on the quarter-finals where 151.8 million viewers tuned in to see Morocco’s Youssef En-Nesyri’s towering header eliminate a Portuguese team replete with global superstars including Cristiano Ronaldo, Bruno Fernandes, and Ruben Dias.

beIN’s social media also posted record numbers with online video views reaching 1.1 billion compared to 121 million in 2018, and an even more impressive 5.5 billion impressions resulting in 400 million interactions (not including SnapChat), compared with 235 million impressions in 2018 that resulted in 40 million interactions.

Source: beIN MEDIA GROUP
Cover image credit: Shutterstock (used for representation only)

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Vrinda Abilash

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