7 in 10 people in Scotland watched World Cup on STV

The 2022 FIFA World Cup broke STV audience records – with the broadcaster scoring its best-performing month for viewing share since September 2003.

Huge interest in the tournament helped STV achieve a record-breaking 25% viewing share for November. The figure was also boosted by the well-received latest series of reality juggernaut, I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here.

Across four weeks of thrilling football action, the World Cup was watched on STV by 7 in 10 people in Scotland (3.3 million).

Reflecting changes in the way audiences watch TV, live streams of the tournament on the broadcaster’s streaming service, STV Player, were almost three times up on the 2018 World Cup (+170%) and +59% on last year’s Euros. A total of 6.2 million streams were clocked throughout the World Cup, beating the broadcaster’s target.

Sunday’s final, which saw Argentina beat France in one of the most memorable clashes in the tournament’s history, reached a peak audience of 604,000 on the STV broadcast channel – but the 10 December France v England game was the most-watched, with a peak audience of 1.6 million.

Despite Scotland’s national team not qualifying for this year’s World Cup, figures suggest Scots embraced the tournament even more than the rest of the UK. Across all matches on STV, the viewing share was up +3% on the UK average*.

Bobby Hain, Managing Director of Broadcast, STV:

“We knew Scotland was a country of football fans, but the record-breaking viewing figures for this year’s World Cup kicked our expectations out the park. 

“We’re delighted that 7 in 10 people in Scotland enjoyed this one-of-a-kind tournament on STV, and it’s also fantastic to see so many people embracing our streaming service, STV Player, for unmissable live sport.”