The ratings for the first night of coverage of the 2018 World Cup show a dramatic drop in viewership over the opening game of the…
The ratings for the first night of coverage of the 2018 World Cup show a dramatic drop in viewership over the opening game of the 2014 World Cup.
The kick-off of the world event in Russia Thursday night saw a match between the home country and Saudi Arabia. With the time zone difference of seven hours ahead of viewers on the east coast, the ratings were down by 50 percent from the previous opener four years ago when Brazil hosted the games and beat Croatia, according to Deadline Friday.
Thursday night’s game ended up scoring Fox a 1.6/6 in metered market ratings as the Russians went on to beat Saudi Arabia 5-0.
But if the ratings are any indication, there is significantly less enthusiasm for this year’s opener compared to the match during the prior World Cup when the Brazil game ended up with 4.4 million viewers on ESPN. That’s not counting another 5.1 million that watched the battle on Univision, who had the TV rights to the game that year.
Taking a look at the numbers further, the match up in Russia was down by 24 percent in meter market household ratings when compared to the opening game of the 2010 World Cup held in South Africa.
This year the games will be broadcast on both Fox and Telemundo, who earned the television rights this year. The Spanish speaking outlet’s numbers have yet to be announced.
