The Euro 2022 women’s football championship is scoring with viewers and recording record ratings as the tournament approaches Sunday’s final between England and Germany.
Wednesday’s semi-final between Germany and France drew 12.19 million viewers in Germany alone on public broadcaster ZDF, with 47.2% of viewers nationwide watching Germany’s 2-2.1 victory over France. Younger spectators were particularly interested: 3.3 million fans between the ages of 14 and 49 watched the match, a turnout of 50.7%.
The hosts’ Euro 2022 semi-final victory over Sweden on Tuesday was watched by a BBC audience of 9.3 million, the highest figure for the tournament so far. The BBC also reported 2 million broadcasts for the Lions’ 4-0 victory.
Those numbers are a far cry from the Women’s World Cup and further proof that women’s football continues to grow in popularity. Fans also come in person to Euro 2022 matches. The tournament set a record for the largest attendance at the European Women’s Championship, surpassing the previous mark of 240,055 during the group stage, and 85,000 fans will attend Sunday’s England-Germany final at the Stadium of Wembley in London.
The success of the Euro should also raise interest both in next year’s Women’s World Cup (the disruption of the coronavirus means the two tournaments will be played side-by-side rather than two years apart) and in the bid to host the 2027 tournament. World football body FIFA will launch its bid for the 2027 World Cup this month, as the Euro 2022 crowd makes the tournament more attractive and valuable to potential hosts and sponsors. There is only one confirmed bid for 2027 so far, with Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands making bids for all three countries to host. But reigning world champions the United States are considering an offer and football-crazy nations Chile, Mexico, Italy and South Africa have also expressed interest.
The 2019 Women’s World Cup attracted 1.12 billion viewers across all platforms, a record audience for the competition, according to FIFA. The final between the United States and the Netherlands was the most watched game of the FIFA Women’s World Cup. The women’s final achieved a 10.0/27 rating on Fox Sports, making it the second highest rated US football broadcast behind the 2015 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, also won by the US team, which attracted a total of 25.4 million viewers.
However, the 2023 World Cup, co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, may struggle to reach these heights as time zone issues affect viewership numbers and tournament schedules in the US and Europe. July 20 to August 20 – Clash with the start of Europe’s top men’s football league.
Source: Hollywood Reporter
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