MUMBAI: With a cumulative viewership of 47 million, the recently concluded FIFA Under-17 World Cup, which was broadcast by Sony Pictures Network India (SPN), has laid claim to garnering the highest viewership among international football tournaments telecast in India.
SPN, quoting India’s Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC) ratings, asserts that coverage of the U-17 World Cup has rated better than the high profile international football sporting events like FIFA Confederations Cup 2017, English Premier League 2016-17, La Liga 2016-2017 season, amongst others.
The 22-day long tournament was viewed by over 47 million viewers across India, with the Hindi and Bengali language feeds contributing to around 40 per cent of the overall viewership.
The finals between England and Spain in Kolkata, that witnessed a packed house of almost 67,000 fans, generated a nationwide interest scoring an average 2.2 million impressions.
It should be no surprise that the bulk of the viewership has come from the football crazy regions of the country like West Bengal, Kerala and North East, while fans in the metros also lapped up the opportunity to catch a glimpse of India’s first-ever FIFA U-17 World Cup held in the country.
Interestingly, the viewership demographics have also showcased that almost 45 per cent women tuned in to catch the action.
Rajesh Kaul, president, Sports and Distribution Business, SPN, said: “Our efforts towards leveraging and enhancing the popularity of the FIFA U-17 World Cup have yielded excellent results and we hope that this will be a pivotal point for the rise of football in India. We would like to thank FIFA, AIFF and LOC for bringing football’s global standards to Indian shores.”
SPN had three language feeds for the tournament including English, Hindi, and Bengali. The English feed was on SONY TEN 2, SONY TEN 2 HD, SONY ESPN & SONY ESPN HD channels while the Hindi and Bengali language feeds were on SONY TEN 3 & SONY TEN 3 HD channels.
Among the factors behind the success of the FIFA U-17 World Cup coverage has been the performance of India’s Boys in Blue, who put up a respectable fight against much higher ranked rival teams.
In fact, India’s game against Colombia where midfielder Jeakson Singh scored India’s first-ever goal in a FIFA tournament after he netted a corner, registered an average of 2.6 million impressions.
The India U-17 football team recorded defeats in all their three group games – against USA, Colombia and Ghana, but they did put up a competitive show in the tournament.
Highlights of U-17 World Cup TV viewership in India
*The 22-day long FIFA U-17 World Cup was viewed by over 47 million viewers across India, while the Hindi and *Bengali language feeds contributed to around 40 per cent of the overall viewership.
*The tournament final between England and Spain at the Salt Lake Stadium Kolkata on 28 October, generated a nationwide interest, scoring an average 2.2 million impressions.
*The India U-17 football team registered an average of 2.6 million impressions per game.
*Bulk of the viewership has come from regions like West Bengal, Kerala and North East, while the fans in the metros also lapped up the opportunity to catch a glimpse of India’s first-ever FIFA U-17 World Cup.
*The viewership demographics have also showcased that almost 45 per cent women tuned in to watch the sporting event.
(Source: BARC 2+, All India Urban + Rural Only Pay Sports channels and not FDA/DD channels)
