Broadcasting & Football: How is the way we consume the game changing?

Thought to be invented around the year 1863, it's the game's simplicity that has contributed to its astronomical growth over the last 160 years. Anyone can watch the game and understand at a basic level what is happening, and it can be played pretty much anywhere, too. According to Nielsen data, over 40% of the world's eight billion-plus population claim to be a fan.

The pinnacle game in the sport, the World Cup final, drew in a record global audience in 2022, and an estimated 1.5 billion people watched Argentina beat France in a thrilling match in Qatar. [Source: FIFA]

Compared to other big sporting events, the audience figures are truly monumental. The 2022 NFL Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals attracted a global reach of 153 million [Source: Adobe Analytics]. The season finale of the Formula 1 2021 season in Abu Dhabi drew in an audience of 108.7 million [F1]. In comparison, the final day of the 2022 Masters in Augusta was seen by 13.1 million [USA Today Sports]. These sports have international acclaim, but the numbers do not lie: their reach is not on the same level as football.

"Football is really watchable because it brings people together," explained Euronews journalist Cinzia Rizzi.

"You can watch a football match on your couch with your family or friends, basically, with people. And it's easy to understand. The rules are not as complicated as sports such as Baseball or Rugby, and as Pele said, 'it's a beautiful game'."

Football is broadcast into an average of 643 million homes annually [Sporting Index], but as the way we consume content, on the whole, is changing, so is the way we consume football. From a film and TV perspective, we are living in the era of online streaming platforms.