German public broadcaster ARD "set a new all-time ratings record for its broadcast of the World Cup final between Germany and Argentina," according to Sidney Schering of QUOTENMETER. A total of 34.65 million viewers tuned in to watch the final starting at 9pm on Sunday. The number surpassed the previous record of 32.57 million viewers who watched the Germany-Brazil semifinal match on Tuesday. In the target demographic 14-49, Germany's 1-0 victory in extra time attracted 15.02 million viewers. The game obtained market shares of 86.3% overall and 90.1% in the target demographic (QUOTENMETER, 7/14).
IN THE U.K.: In London, John Plunkett reported a peak TV audience of more than 20 million viewers "watched Germany's thrilling extra time win over Argentina in the World Cup final -- the vast majority of them on BBC1." The game was seen by a peak of 16.7 million viewers on BBC1 at 10:30pm. Another 3.8 million viewers "were watching at the same time on ITV, a peak audience across both channels of 20.5 million." BBC1's audience was down on the '10 final, Spain's 1-0 win over the Netherlands, again in extra time, which averaged 12.7 million viewers across the entirety of the BBC's coverage. ITV "was up, albeit marginally, from 2.8 million." Sunday's match averaged 14.9 million viewers on BBC1, and 3.6 million viewers on ITV, "a ration of around four to one in favour of advertising-free BBC1." (GUARDIAN, 7/14).
IN SPAIN: The EFE reported Kantar Media revealed that in Spain, 12.6 million viewers tuned in to the match during extra time, which translated to a 67.6% market share. The game's audience during the first 90 minutes reached 10.69 million viewers (EFE, 7/14).
