Encouraging first results. After twelve days of competition, the Rugby World Cup is already a success, particularly around the world, as Jacques Rivoal explains.
“I am very struck by the TV audience figures, rejoices the boss of the GIP of France 2023. The last match of Japan (England-Japan, 34-12, this Sunday) was 30% more than the equivalent match in Japan in 2019 at a viewing time that was not the same, due to the time difference. We can even cite the figure for Germany, which is not a country known for being a rugby country – 3.5 million spectators for the opening match; This is more than all the World Cup matches in 2019 broadcast on German channels.”
If this World Cup is a success internationally, it is also and above all a success in France. “TF1 had 15 million viewers, with a peak of 17 million,” continues Jacques Rivoal. The last time we did better was in the 2011 final between France and New Zealand. The boss of L’Equipe told me that, on September 9, the day after the opening match, he broke his sales record for the year. He is practically at the level of what he experienced for the final of the Football World Cup in Qatar between France and Argentina. These figures are quite spectacular. We had not anticipated such figures and we can only rejoice about them.”
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