For the early stages of the World Cup, fans are being treated to three live matches a day, kicking off local time in Germany in the afternoon, early evening and late evening, but TV viewers are becoming more sensitive to the time of day when these matches are broadcast, compared with previous World Cups.
For England's opening afternoon game against Paraguay, the BBC pulled in an average 12m compared with an average of 14.2m for the 5pm kick-off for the Trinidad & Tobago.
Across 28 surveyed countries for which data is currently available, the average match audience for Germany 2006 has fallen by 14% compared with France 1998. This was the last World Cup held on European soil with similar scheduling.
However, the average audience for afternoon matches has fallen by a staggering 38% across these 28 countries -- equivalent to a loss of 21m viewers.
This huge drop in viewing for the afternoon matches is largely responsible for the overall decrease in viewing in 2006 from 1998. This comparison by time of day can not be made for Japan/South Korea 2002 because of the different time zones of the host nations.
At the start of France 1998, TV viewers were largely indifferent between matches scheduled in the afternoon and early evening. Late evening matches, broadcast in peak in key football markets in Europe, attracted the largest audiences with 18% more viewers globally tuning in than for games earlier in the day.
For Germany 2006, viewer sensitivity to the time of day is much more pronounced. 28% more viewers are tuning in for the early evening matches compared with afternoon matches, and a further 27% more viewers for the late evening match compared with the early evening match.
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