With just over two weeks until the first match, research from telecommunications, media, and technology consultancy firm, Altman Solon predicts the FIFA World Cup 2022 will smash viewing records across Europe.
Earlier this year FIFA predicted this year’s tournament in Qatar could reach an audience of 5 billion, an increase of 1.5 billion viewers compared to 2018’s tournament.
Altman Solon’s 2022 Global Sports Survey, which measured 17,000 respondents across 17 countries, reveals the level of interest in the World Cup across Europe continues to rise, with 77 per cent of respondents in Spain stating they are “very interested” or “somewhat interested” in watching the event. In the UK, the figure is 73%, ahead of France (70%), Germany (66%), and Italy (64%).
In terms of how much of the tournament the survey respondents said they expect to watch, the majority of viewers in the UK, France and Spain said they intend to watch a couple of games a day, while in Germany and Italy it’s a couple of games a week.
”The 2022 FIFA World Cup will a magnet for sports fans worldwide. As consumers increasingly move to digital channels to consume sports, we can expect an unprecedented level of engagement, going far beyond the live product only. We will live our passion for football as an increasingly multi-dimensional, multi-channel, highly immersive, and gamified experience,” said David Dellea, director at Altman Solon.
The full report is available here.
