World Cup 2002 Exceeds Expectations With Global Viewings

The World Cup 2002 attracted global TV audiences “way beyond expectations” with 68% of the world’s population watching the tournament across 44 countries, according to research carried out by Initiative Media.

The research shows that 20.4% of the world’s population, or around 217 million people, watched this year’s World Cup final on TVs in their homes, with 6.9% tuning in to the average match. The tournament produced a total of almost 6,000 minutes of live football action, with TV viewing heavier in Asia and Australasia than in Europe.

Out of home viewing was found to have increased in popularity since the last World Cup and due to the time of day that most matches were broadcast in Europe, viewing in workplaces and public areas played a “major part” in this year’s tournament. One in four UK adults aged between 16 and 34 were found to have watched England get knocked out of the World Cup finals at work, at the pub or at another out of home location (see Young Adults Venture Out To Watch England Versus Brazil).

In terms of media and marketing activity Initiative Media claims that the World Cup is challenging the Olympics as the world’s biggest event. It is estimated that the 15 official sponsors of this year’s tournament each paid an average of $38m to FIFA, with the English team thought to have generated around $22m in team sponsorship.

The World Cup has been broadly celebrated as a commercial success and recent research from Carat shows that official sponsors seem to have won the audience awareness battle during the tournament, despite the efforts of so called “ambush” marketers (see Ambush Marketers Did Not Steal World Cup).

Initiative Media: 020 7663 7000 www.initiativemedia.com

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