ZURICH: More than one billion fans tuned in to watch the final of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, with the competition reaching a global in-home television audience of 3.2bn people, according to final figures from FIFA and Kantar Media.
An estimated 280m people around the world watched matches online or on a mobile device, in a sign that more and more fans are embracing new technology for sports content.
The World Cup broke several TV audience records in key international markets, including the United States and Germany.
The final between Argentina and eventual champions Germany attracted an in-home audience of 695m, up by 12pc on the 2010 final for viewers watching for 20 minutes or more. The total audience for the final, including in-home and out-of-home figures for viewers watching for at least one minute, hit 1.013bn.
The impressive figures are a result of intense global interest in Brazil’s second hosting of the competition, and were achieved even though many matches were broadcast during the night and early hours of the morning in Asia, which is home to nearly two-thirds of the world’s population.
Broadcasters showed some 98,087 hours of match footage in total from Brazil, up 36 per cent from 2010.
View the full Television Audience Report for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Some key TV viewing figures from the 2014 FIFA World Cup
- Total in-home audience reach (1+ minute): 3.2 billion (no change on 2010)
- Final match total in- and out-of-home audience reach (1+ minute) hit 1.013 billion
- In-home audience for final (+20 minutes) up by 12% on 2010 to 695 million
- An estimated 280 million people watched matches online or on a mobile device
- Total broadcast hours: 98,087 (+36% on 2010
