In June 16, Match TV set an absolute record for the average share of television viewing among its target audience of men aged 14 to 59. It was the biggest number since the channel was launched - 13.9% over the whole day, according to Mediascope data.
The first round of games in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup wrapped up on June 19. The most popular live broadcast at Match TV (the games of the Russian national team were shown on the channel in replay mode) was the game between Egypt and Uruguay. The average share of viewing of the match among a male audience aged 14 to 59 was 30.5%. This set yet another record among all football broadcasts since the day the channel was founded. The total number of people who watched the game between Egypt and Uruguay in the audience “All 4+” was 4,582,000 people.
The average viewership share of all live broadcasts (10 games) of the 2018 World Cup on Match TV in the target audience, men aged 14 to 59, was 25% in the period between June 15 and 19. In comparison, viewership of the first eight matches of the 2016 European Championships was 13.0%, 2017 Confederations Cup (10 matches) - 12.5%, 2016 Ice Hockey World Championships (10 games) - 9.1%, and the most recent Ice Hockey World Championships (10 games) - 4.8%.
The viewership share of the TV channel overall - taking into account matches, studios and all programs from June 14 to 19 - was 9.7%. These statistics rank second among all TV channels for this period in the target audience of men aged 14 to 59. Another popular channel was Match! Ultra, which broadcasts in a 24-hour format and shows all matches of the 2018 World Cup in high definition and without advertising. The television channel is accessible to all subscribers of Rostelecom’s interactive and digital TV.
In the digital sphere, the top online broadcast in the first week of the 2018 World Cup was the match between Russia and Egypt. More than 1,100,000 people watched the game on the website matchtv.ru and through the app Match! Club. The channel’s audience on social networks grew by 534,000 people over the first week of the football tournament, and included 502,949 new users in VKontakte.
Match TV launched a number of special themed programs ahead of the start of the 2018 World Cup, including Welcome to Russia, Geografia Sbornoi (Geography of the National Team), a series of programs Mundial. Nashi Soperniki (The World Cup. Our Rivals), among others.
The best football experts worked on the team of Match TV from the first day of the 2018 World Cup. Among the guests and experts in the studios in Ostankino and Vorobyovy Gory were the famous footballers and coaches Aleksandr Kerzhakov, Rashid Rakhimov, Dmitry Ananko, Denis Glushakov, Vladislav Radimov, Andrey Talalayev, Xavi Hernandez, Albert Riera, Guus Hiddink and others.
Match TV opened ultramodern studios in the cities that hosted the 2018 World Cup. The “Myach” studio on Vorobyovy Gory, which allows passersby to watch the work of the hosts, employees and experts of Match TV in live mode, has become a new city attraction and a flagship project of the television channel. The construction represents a big transparent football, which is surrounded by orbits. The studio is inside the ball itself while the orbits - rings around the ball - flash news about the World Cup in a 24-hour format.
