A TV audience of two billion viewers is expected for tonight’s World Cup final
On average, the races broadcast on Rai 1 attracted 4.6 million viewers. Revenue has exceeded 50 million. The hydration breaks are racking up figures on a par with Sanremo
This evening, for the World Cup final – at 9.00 pm Italian time – an audience of around two billion viewers is expected. This is in line with the record-breaking figures recorded in many countries during the 2026 World Cup matches. In Italia too, the World Cup has been widely followed, even without the Azzurri on the pitch. On the eve of the final, the figures tell the story of a tournament that has revitalised mainstream television, drawn young people to their screens and transformed Rai 1 into a huge national arena.
It was a winning move by the public broadcaster, which, for the first time, concentrated the available matches on its flagship channel – one a day – leaving the entire competition to DAZN.
According to analysis by Studio Frasi based on Auditel figures, the 33 races broadcast on Rai 1 attracted an average of 4.6 million viewers, with a 33.2 per cent share.
This is the same average figure as the channel’s first prime-time slot of the season, but with an eleven-point increase in the audience share. The contrast is even more striking when considering the entire time slot between 8.30 pm and midnight: on the same days last year, Rai 1 had 2.4 million viewers; this year, that figure has risen to 3.7 million, a jump of 55.9 per cent.
Football has also had the power to change the make-up of the audience. The average number of male viewers watching Rai 1 was 2.1 million, compared with 903,000 last year. Against this backdrop, the figures showing that the female audience has also grown – from 1.5 to 1.7 million – are significant.
