The World Cup preparation game between the German national soccer team and Oman met with only moderate interest on television. According to the Video Research Working Group, an average of 4.26 million viewers watched the 1-0 victory of the DFB team early on Wednesday evening. According to the broadcaster RTL, the broadcaster thus achieved a market share of 19.3 percent.
Viewer participation increased from around 3.7 million in the first half to around 4.8 million in the second half. There can be no question of a TV boycott of the World Cup matches in Qatar or of hardly any interest in the DFB team – but the numbers do not speak for real hype either.
In the past, the national games sometimes reached twice as many television viewers. However, the games usually only start at TV prime time after 8 p.m. The game against Oman, on the other hand, kicked off at 6:00 p.m. (CEST) and thus took place at the weaker time before the evening.
Germany won 1-0 against Oman with a goal by Werder Bremen striker Niclas Füllkrug in the 80th minute of the game. The World Cup in Qatar begins on Sunday evening with the hosts’ game against Ecuador (5 p.m. CEST). The DFB team is in demand for the first time next Wednesday. Japan is at 2 p.m., followed by Spain on 27 November (Sunday) at 8 p.m. and Costa Rica at the same time on Thursday in the group stage.
Most of the games in the tournament will be alternately broadcast by ARD and ZDF on free TV. The Telekom broadcaster Magenta TV shows all encounters, but only for paying customers.
Sources: Video Research Working Group, DPA news agency
