France's victory against Morocco (2-0) in the semi-final of the 2022 FIFA World Cup attracted 20.69 million viewers on Wednesday, December 14 on TF1, or 66% of audience share, according to figures from Médiamétrie published the next day. This is the best audience for a World Cup game since 2006, said the channel, which recorded a peak audience of 23.3 million viewers.
It is also the best audience since 2016 for all programs and channels combined, the channel said on Twitter. This audience did not exceed the record acheived by M6 during the Euro 2016 final between France and Portugal, which attracted 20.8 million viewers.
TF1 was also pleased with the results on targets : 78% of audience share of 25-49 year olds, 81% of audience share of men aged 25-49, 74% of audience share of 50 year olds + and 83% of audience share of 15-34 years old.
Since the start of the competition in Qatar, TF1 has been delivering high audience ratings. The victory of the French team against England (2-1) in the quarter-finals was watched on December 10 by 17.7 million viewers. The France/Poland (3-1) match of the 2022 World Cup was watched by 14.3 million people on December 4. The French team's first match against Australia (4-1) attracted 12.5 million viewers.
The final, where France will face Argentina, will be broadcast on Sunday, December 18 at 4p.m.
TF1 owns exclusive rights on free-to-air TV (28 matches including those of the French team) while beIN Sports has the entire event on pay TV.