DUBAI: BeIN Media Group has recorded more than 5.4 billion cumulative views throughout the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 on its flagship channel beIN Sports across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as 1.1 billion views on its official social media channels.
The final match, which ended with Argentina winning, was watched by 242.8 million viewers — or 68 percent of MENA’s adult population — on beIN Sports’ free-to-air channel.
Viewership was particularly strong in Qatar where 93 percent of the adult population tuned in followed by Morocco (91 percent), Lebanon (89 percent), Algeria (79 percent), and Egypt (72 percent).
On beIN’s official YouTube channel, the final match drew in a cumulative viewership of 25 million with viewership peaking at 4.44 million during the penalty shootouts.
Throughout the tournament, the overall viewership for beIN’s 24-country coverage across the MENA saw a 135 percent increase compared with the network’s broadcast of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018.
The final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 attracted 88 million more viewers on beIN Sports than the final of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018. Average TV viewership per match throughout the tournament saw a significant rise in 2022 reaching 80.6 million, compared with 36.2 million during the 2018 World Cup.
“It’s incredibly special for us that the first World Cup in the Middle East has broken regional viewership records with more than 5.4 billion cumulative views across the month-long tournament,” said Mohammad Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN MENA.
The semifinal game, which saw Morocco lose out on a spot in the final to France, saw a record viewership of 186.1 million on beIN Sports. A massive 99 percent of adults in Morocco watched the historic match live on beIN Sports while 82 percent in Qatar watched the match on beIN Sports, followed by 78 percent in Algeria, 75 percent in Tunisia, 67 percent in Lebanon and 63 percent in Saudi Arabia.
The semifinal decider between Argentina and Croatia drew in 166.3 million viewers across the region.
The network’s social media channels also posted record numbers with online video views reaching 1.1 billion compared to 121 million in 2018, and 5.5 billion impressions resulting in 400 million interactions (excluding Snapchat), compared with 235 million impressions in 2018 that resulted in 40 million interactions.
“This is evidence of the appetite for football and similar tournaments across the Arab World and we are honored to have been the exclusive rights holder,” Al-Subaie said.
