This Mediaweek World Cup ratings report tracks live metro audiences as measured by OzTAM for the games being broadcast on SBS Television.
The FIFA World Cup 2022 kicked off on Monday, November 21 and will be a free-to-air exclusive broadcast on SBS in Australia.
Visit the SBS On Demand FIFA World Cup Hub here.
All 64 matches from Qatar will be shown live and free, with eight live games shown on SBS VICELAND.
In the opening match, Qatar fell 2-0 to Ecuador. In the 92 years of the tournament, no host had lost their opening match before.
The group stages continue until the final match between Serbia and Switzerland on December 3 (AEDT).
Group Stage: November 21 – December 3
Round of 16: December 4 – 7
Quarter-Finals: December 10 – 11
Semi-Finals: December 14 – 15
3rd vs 4th playoff: December 18
Final: December 19
FIFA World Cup 2022: Everything you need to know
FIFA World Cup 2022: Everything you need to know about the commentators
(All times and dates below Australian AEST)
World Cup TV ratings
Monday November 21
Opening Ceremony 37,000
Qatar v Ecuador 70,000
England v Iran 198,000
Tuesday November 22
Senegal v Netherlands 48,000
USA v Wales 116,000
Argentina v Saudi Arabia 439,000
Denmark v Tunisia 133,000
Wednesday November 23
France v Australia 461,000
Germany v Japan 127,000
Mexico v Poland 40,000
Morocco v Croatia 362,000
*SBS has updated the viewing as follows for the France v Australia match:
Metro 461,000
Regional 134,000
BVOD 246,000
Total 841,000
Thursday November 24
Spain v Costa Rica 34,000
Belgium v Canada 119,000
Switzerland v Cameroon 344,000
Uruguay v Korea 143,000
Friday November 25
Portugal v Ghana 50,000
Brazil v Serbia 183,000
Qatar v Senegal 130,000
Wales v Iran 399,000
Saturday November 26
Tunisia v Australia 1,034,000
England v USA 228,000
Poland v Saudia Arabia 201,000
Netherlands v Ecuador 45,000
*SBS has updated the viewing as follows for the Tunisia v Australia match:
Metro 1,034,000
Regional 306,000
BVOD 386,000
Total 1,726,000
Sunday November 27
Argentina v Mexico 125,000
Japan v Costa Rica 448,000
Belgium v Morocco 125,000
France v Denmark 52,000
Monday November 28
Cameroon v Serbia 393,000
Spain v Germany 180,000
Croatia v Canada 41,000
Korea v Ghana 143,000
Tuesday November 29
Brazil v Switzerland 48,000
Portugal v Uruguay 139,000
Wednesday November 30
Wales v England 163,000
Australia v Denmark (Parts of first half, Brisbane/Adelaide/ Perth) 111,000
Iran v USA 39,000
Thursday December 1
Australia v Denmark (Nationwide, all time zones) 315,000
Poland v Argentina 126,000
*SBS has updated the viewing as follows for the Australia v Denmark match:
Metro 360,000
Regional 82,000
BVOD 176,000
Total 618,000
Friday December 2
Spain v Japan 129,000
Croatia v Belgium 41,000
Costa Rica v Germany 38,000
Saturday December 3
Serbia v Switzerland 132,000
Cameroon v Brazil 63,000
Ghana v Uruguay 35,000
Sunday December 4
Australia v Argentina 964,000
Netherlands v USA 63,000
*SBS has updated the viewing as follows for the Australia v Argentina match:
Metro 964,000
Regional 308,000
BVOD 424,000
Total 1.7m
Monday December 5
England v Senegal 206,000
France v Poland 45,000
Japan v Croatia 37,000
Tuesday December 6
Brazil v South Korea 193,000
Japan v Croatia 52,000
Wednesday December 7
Portugal v Switzerland 164,000
Morocco v Spain 43,000
Friday December 9
Brazil v Croatia 54,000
Saturday December 10
Netherlands v Argentina 274,000
Brazil v Croatia 88,000
Sunday December 11
England v France 401,000
Morocco v Portugal 70,000
Wednesday December 14
Argentina v Croatia 324,000
Thursday December 15
France v Morocco 339,000
Sunday December 18
Morocco v Croatia 82,000
Argentina v France (Parts of first half, Brisbane/Adelaide/Perth) 246,000
Monday December 19
Argentina v France (Nationwide, all time zones) 411,000
*SBS has updated the viewing as follows for the Argentina v France match:
Metro 436,000
Regional 65,000
BVOD 86,000
Total 976,000
Speaking after the final, managing director of SBS James Taylor said that “It was an absolutely stunning decider and a fitting end to an exceptional World Cup for SBS.”
SBS director of sport, Ken Shipp added that “Not only was this a great tournament for the Socceroos and, by extension, the game in Australia, Aussie football fans have really made it a standout event for us.”