MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Networks India (SPN), the official broadcaster of the 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia continues to attract varied kinds of audiences from across the country for what it calls ‘the greatest show on earth’.
Taking the first 26 matches of the competition from 14th-22nd June into account, Sony recorded 117.3 million viewers (BARC, All India, CS2+, LIVE matches + wraparound shows + highlights + repeats + surround programming of FIFA World Cup, SPN Sports Network) across its television and digital mediums.
The network has telecast the competition on Sony Ten 2, Sony Ten 3 and Sony ESPN channels while live streaming it on the SonyLIV app & website.
Out of these viewers, 99.3 million were tuned in to TV to watch the matches while more than 18 million did so on SonyLIV. The reach of the tournament was delivered courtesy 46% of these viewers being female. Coincidentally, the same percentage has been recorded for Sony’s local language feeds, which are namely Hindi, Malayalam, Bengali, Tamil and Telugu.
The top markets in terms of reach for LIVE matches on TV were West Bengal (14.8 million), Kerala (14.5 million), North East (8.4 million), and Maharashtra (7.1 million).
As far as language commentary is concerned, 6.8 million viewers in Kerala sampled Malayalam commentary and 5.4 million viewers in West Bengal opted for Bengali commentary.
With 41% of viewers coming from the rural areas of the country, North East and Maharashtra were amongst the top markets, garnering 8.4 million and 7.1 million viewers respectively.
Interestingly, Germany’s 0-1 upset in the hands of the unfancied Mexican team attracted a whopping 7 million viewers, making it the most watched match during the first 9 days of the competition.
Average viewership for prime-time games (8.30 pm and 9.30 pm) has been 4.8 million impressions.
In terms of live matches, each viewer has spent an average of 145 mins on the tournament in the first nine days.
Rajesh Kaul, president, Distribution and Sports Business, Sony Pictures Networks India commented on the development. “Our regional commentary accounted for 46% of the overall viewership which shows a deep penetration and high impact that the football tournament has made with our viewers. Our strategy of engaging viewers and catering to their convenience with local language feeds has helped us expand the market and reach out to a wider fan base.”
