beIN SPORTS Announces Record-Breaking Cumulative Viewership of 5.4 Billion for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022TM

 beIN MEDIA GROUP (“beIN”) is marking a World Cup™ victory of its own by revealing record viewership figures for FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™. beIN recorded more than 5.4 billion cumulative views throughout the month-long tournament on its flagship channel beIN SPORTS across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), and 1.1 billion views on its official social media channels.

The highly anticipated final match that ended with Argentina becoming FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ winners with a 4-2 victory on penalties against France, was watched by a staggering 242.8 million viewers on beIN SPORTS’ free-to-air channel. This figure equates to 68%, more than two-thirds, of the MENA’s total adult population and, when analysed per country, results show viewership was particularly strong in Qatar where 93% of the adult population tuned in. In Morocco 91% of adults watched, followed by Lebanon (89%), Algeria (79%), and Egypt (72%). Meanwhile, on its official YouTube channel, the final match drew in a cumulative viewership of 25 million with viewership peaking at 4.44 million during the penalty shootouts.

The overall viewership across beIN’s 24-country coverage area across MENA for all matches is a 135% increase compared with the Qatar-based network’s broadcast of the FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™. The final of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ attracted 88 million more viewers on beIN SPORTS than the final of FIFA World Cup Russia 2018™. Average TV viewership per match throughout the tournament saw a significant rise in 2022 reaching 80.6 million, compared to that of 36.2 million for 2018’s coverage. 

Mohammad Al-Subaie, CEO of beIN – MENA, said: “It’s incredibly special for us that the first World Cup in the Middle East has broken regional