FIFA WOMEN’S WORLD CUP COVERAGE ON RTÉ BREAKS NEW GROUND WITH AUDIENCES

Monday, 21 Aug 2023 15:41
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Ireland v Canada most watched women’s team sport event in Irish TV history

Ireland v Australia biggest live event of the year on RTÉ Player

RTÉ’s coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 broke audience records as television live match broadcasts plus highlights reached over half of the TV-owning population. The Republic of Ireland’s group game against Canada was the highest rating game on RTÉ2 and the most watched women’s team sport event in Irish TV history with an average of 551,000 viewers.

The average share of viewing on RTÉ2, excluding Ireland games, was more than double (20.7%) the average share for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup (8.9%) while average streams per match on RTÉ Player were more than double* the number seen in 2019.

Ireland’s opening match against Australia was the biggest live event of the year on RTÉ Player with 368,000 live streams, and the second highest live streamed event ever on the platform.** Yesterday’s Final, which saw Spain defeat England 1-0 to become World Champions for the first time, was watched by an average of 333,000 people on RTÉ2, with a 48.3% share of viewing. It registered 69,400 live streams on RTÉ Player.

RTÉ Group Head of Sport, Declan McBennett, said “The audience engagement figures across all platforms on RTÉ Sport show that women’s sport at international level continues to grow, excel and inspire. This growth must be matched now at national level to provide the legacy the tournament deserves and the platform for further participation growth.”

Meanwhile there were 10 million page views of FIFA Women’s World Cup content on RTÉ.ie/Sport and the RTÉ News app, with the first two Ireland live blogs reaching 500,000 for the opener against Australia and 439,000 for the second group game v Canada. Both live blogs currently rank among the top 20 sport articles of the year. The Women’s World Cup podcast has had over 70,000 streams on RTÉ platforms, Spotify, Apple and YouTube while the RTÉ Soccer podcast had approximately another 12,000 streams.

RTÉ’s longstanding commitment to the Republic of Ireland’s women’s team continues with coverage of their Nations League campaign beginning next month with live coverage across RTÉ platforms of the game against Northern Ireland – the WNT’s first game in the Aviva Stadium.

The FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 in numbers:

  • Coverage of the Women’s World Cup on RTÉ television reached 2.4m people, or 53% of the TV population (1+ minute cumulative reach, live match coverage plus highlights)
  • The highest rating match on TV was Ireland’s second group game against Canada. It was the most watched women’s team sporting event in Irish TV history with an average of 551,000 viewers on RTÉ2
  • Excluding Ireland games, the average share of viewing on TV was 20.7% which was more than double the 8.9% average share on RTÉ for the Women’s World Cup in 2019 (live play)
  • Total streams on RTÉ Player exceeded 1.3m across the tournament (live matches plus highlights; live streaming and vod), while average streams per match were more than double the number seen for the Women’s World Cup in 2019*
  • Ireland’s opening match against Australia was the biggest live event of the year on RTÉ Player with 368,000 live streams, and the second highest live streamed event ever on the platform**
  • The World Cup final, which saw Spain crowned world champions for the first time, was watched by an average of 333,000 people on RTÉ2, yielding a 48.3% share of viewing. It registered 69,400 live streams on RTÉ Player

*the average excludes Ireland matches

**Men’s FIFA World Cup Final 2022 – 490,000Source: Nielsen/TAM (Live + VOSDAL, Inds 4+), Piano