The World Cup final did not come close to the ratings of the DFB matches, but there was still plenty of interest in the match between Spain and England.
According to AGF Videoforschung, 5.378 million people watched the 1:0 victory of the Spanish women on Sunday afternoon. The market share of the football broadcast, on the other hand, was top of the day at 41.8 per cent.
However, the World Cup final did not match the ratings of the games of the DFB team, which was eliminated in the preliminary round. When the Germans lost 2-1 to Colombia on 30 July, 10.363 million viewers (market share 61.6 per cent) tuned in to ARD.
The 1-1 against South Korea four days later was watched by 8.06 million people on ZDF. That corresponded to a market share of 63.5 per cent. The 6-0 win over Morocco in the World Cup opener on 24 July, also on ZDF, drew 5.61 million fans (60.4 per cent) to their televisions.
ARD also drew a positive balance. On average, 2.019 million fans watched the live broadcasts on the first channel, which corresponded to a market share of 27.7 per cent. “Viewer and user interest was highly gratifying across all ARD offerings. Although the early elimination of the German eleven was a pity in view of the audience’s enthusiasm, the interest remained at the same high level as in the preliminary round,” commented ARD sports coordinator Axel Balkausky.
Due to the time difference, the World Cup matches in New Zealand and Australia were shown in Germany in the morning and at midday.
