M6 and beIN hail solid World Cup start, no records yet | OneFootball

M6 and beIN Sports have posted encouraging early World Cup audiences and now await the knockouts after two weeks.

According to L'Équipe, M6 is airing 54 free-to-air matches after investing more than €100m. beIN Sports secured full rights in February with a bid slightly above the €20m offered by Ligue 1+, and both view the first 15 days positively.

France’s 3-1 win over Senegal on 16 June drew 14 million viewers on M6 and 640,000 on beIN. Monday’s meeting with Iraq averaged 4.9 million on M6 for a 63.1% share, close to the 4.88 million for Mexico v South Africa on 11 June at 28.5%.

beIN averaged 415,000 for the first half of France v Iraq and 450,000 for the opening match. Brazil v Morocco at midnight, shown in co-broadcast, topped 220,000 on beIN, equal to 11% of the match’s total audience, usually between 6 and 8%. M6 has led the evening schedules on most nights and beIN has also grown.

Yet TV interest has been sliding. In 2014, TF1 averaged 9.4 million and 42% for the group stage, then 7.2 million and 36% in 2018, and 6.4 million and 30% in 2022. This edition tracks that trend, with M6 at 3.8 million for primetime non-France group games, a 24% share.

So far, only France’s opener has passed 5 million after two weeks, with France v Norway figures pending. A key factor is the North American time difference, producing midnight, 3:00 and 5:00 kick-offs for viewers in France.

The expanded 48-team format and 104 matches also weigh on averages, bringing more lower-profile ties as M6 shows nearly double TF1’s 28 games from 2022. Even so, France’s opener was the best since 2014 and the tournament’s curtain-raiser outperformed 2018 and 2022.

Both broadcasters expect an uplift from the round of 32 starting Sunday. beIN will air seven ties from that round exclusively, including Netherlands v Morocco and Argentina’s match, plus two last-16 games and one quarter-final. M6 will show Brazil v Japan on Monday at 19:00.

They also point to strong digital traction. At M6, creator Michou could not post on Instagram due to no agreement between Meta and FIFA, but his France v Iraq TikTok has 2.5 million views.

Source: L'Équipe