Viewership grew steadily by 33% from kick off on the 22^nd June (SA vs France), versus the downward trend experienced during the SA vs Uruguay game on the 16^th June.

 

The SA versus Uruguay game continues to hold the highest audience with a reach (against all individuals 4+) of 22%.  The SA vs France game achieved a peak reach of 17%, slightly higher than the opening SA game on the 11^th June which achieved 17% reach.

 

The SA vs France games attracted a higher than average Female viewership of 41%.  On average 63% of SWC audiences have been Male.

 

49% of SWC audiences tend to be aged 35+. Match broadcast time can impact significantly on a younger audience, as can be seen by the 11% increase in 7-15 year olds watching the SA vs France game (16h00-18h00) versus the SA vs Uruguay game broadcast from 20h30. 

Audiences follow a consistent trend daily with viewership steadily growing from the 13h30-15h30 game onwards.  20h30-22h30 Games generally pull the largest audiences of the day.

 

SuperSport3 SWC: All Individuals - Average Audiences in 000’s:

 

SuperSport4 broadcast its first games of the Soccer World Cup on the 22^nd June and achieved a 16% share of DStv SWC viewers.  The combined share of SuperSport3 and SuperSport4 on the 22^nd June was 62%.

 

328,000 SuperSport4 viewers watched Greece vs Argentina on the evening of the 22^nd June.  As one would expect, the earlier Mexico vs Uruguay game broadcast simultaneously with the SA vs France game reached just 92,000 SuperSport4 viewers, the bulk of this viewing took place just before half time and again before the full time whistle.

 

The DStv channel share of audience ranking reflects no movement in the top 2 positions since the start of the Soccer World Cup, with SuperSport3 holding 1^st position and SABC1 Digital in 2^nd place. 

 

SuperSport3 continues to be the channel of choice for DStv subscribers when viewing SWC games with an average to date of 69% of the DStv SWC game viewing audience watching matches on SuperSport3.  

 

After the hype of the opening game, DStv programme genres reflect limited change in share of audiences from the 12^th June to date.  General Entertainment FTA recorded a slight increase in share on the 22^nd June, driven by the SA vs France game, moving from an average of 26% to 33%, a similar shift was recorded for previous SA games, the 16^th June (29%) and to a greater degree the opening game on the 11^th June (37%).

 

Sport has secured a 19% increase in the share of DStv viewers when comparing average May viewership to activity by genre during the SWC, the majoirty of these viewers have moved from the General Entertainment DStv genre.

 

The SA vs France game recorded an average Premium audience on SuperSport3 of 655,000,  10% lower than the opening game, and 22% lower than the SA vs Uruguay game. 

 

SuperSport3 maintained a 68% share of SWC audience over SABC1 Digital during the SA vs France match, comparable to the 69% share of audience achieved for the opening game. 

 

SuperSport3s share of the Premium SWC audience has peaked at 86% and averaged 76% for the period 11^th June to 21^st June.  With the inclusion of SuperSport4 and SABC2 from the 22^nd June, SuperSport holds a 74% share of the Premium audience. 

The SA vs France game achieved a peak reach of 19.6% against Premium subscribers, this rating ranks as the 3^rd highest during the event to date, the 3 top ratings being achieved during SA games. 

The SA vs France game was viewed by 642,000 Compact viewers, this is the highest audience measured to date during the SWC against Compact subscribers, 100,000 more viewer’s than the previous SA vs Uruguay game which achieved top audience status. This game also achieved the top peak reach to date against Compact viewers of 16.3% and secured a 55% share of SWC Compact viewers against SABC1 Digital, the highest during the SWC event for a South African game.

The bulk of the SWC Compact audience share was held by SuperSport3, a swing from the opening game scenario where SABC1 Digital reflected a 55% share. 

 

The introduction of SuperSport4 and SABC2 into the mix on the 22^nd June has resulted in overall SuperSport share pegged at 57% of DStv SWC viewers.    

  

Recent Premium genre shares reflect a move towards General Entertainment DStv driven by a swing away from General Entertainment FTA and to a lesser extent Sport.  However, General Entertainment FTA does experience slight share gains during big game days i.e. South African games.

 

Compact subscriber genre preference remains largely unchanged, with General Entertainment FTA maintaining the greatest share, followed closely by General Entertainment DStv and Sport.  However, when comparing average share in May to current SWC activity it is evident Sport has increased in share significantly, a growth of 19% against Compact subscribers.

  

SuperSport3 continues to dominate 1^st position on the Premium audience ranking table, however, a tussle between SuperSport3 and SABC1 is evident for No1 position in the Compact audience share ranking with this position switching on almost a daily basis.  

 

For further information please contact:

Brenda Wortley

011 329 5156

 

Note: Audience data excludes guests in home and all out of home viewing such as fan park audiences.