On beIN's linear channels, the broadcaster saw more than 380m cumulative views from the MENA region, in addition to 79m on YouTube.
During the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021, which took place between November 30 and December 18, 2021, BeIN Sports claims to have achieved more than 450m cumulative views.
BeIN made the Arab Cup matches available free-to-air on its channels beIN Sports 1 and beIN Sports 2, across the MENA region, and on YouTube in 33 countries.
According to research statistics, the tournament saw an overall cumulative total of over 387m views on linear channels, while the final match between Algeria vs. Tunisia recorded the highest audience of 40m views. The final was followed by Tunisia vs. Egypt semi-final match with 37m viewers, and the Qatar vs. Algeria match with 32m viewers. The six matches of the Egyptian national team were among the top 10 most-watched matches on beIN Sports 1 and beIN Sports 2.
The ranking of the teams with the highest average viewers per match is as follows: Algeria (23.7m), Egypt (22.2m), Tunisia (17.7m), Morocco (14.2m), and Qatar (13.4m). Around 66% of Tunisia’s population, 57% of Algeria’s population and 35% of Qatar’s population watched the final.
The number of viewers on beIN Sports 1 and beIN Sports 2 on YouTube hit record levels, with a total number of 79m cumulative views for live streams. The final match between Algeria and Tunisia set a record in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, with 2.3m concurrent viewers. BeIN digitally aired the final in the MENA region in addition to France, Turkey, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Timor Leste, Cambodia, Laos, and the Philippines.
Commenting on the success, Mohammed Al-Bader, Managing Director of beIN Channels, MENA, said: “We are pleased that our exceptional coverage of the FIFA Arab Cup Qatar 2021 has reached outstanding viewership in MENA. This achievement is also a testament to our excellent programming and reflects the popularity of linear TV in MENA. We look forward to continuing to deliver exciting sports tournaments to our viewers and subscribers this year, starting from TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations, Cameroon 2021 and concluding with the highly-awaited FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.”
He added: “The Arab Cup capped an incredible year for beIN Sports, with over 1bn cumulative views on beIN Sports during the Euros. It also served as a prime opportunity to test our readiness for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, in which two-thirds of the world’s population will be able to watch the games during prime time.”
Overall, the quarterfinals, semi-finals, third-place play-off and the final match had higher viewership than the group stage matches. The last eight matches in the tournament recorded a total of 204m cumulative views, while the 24 group stage matches saw 183m cumulative views.