When the Impact of Sports Is Measured in Millions
Major global sporting events reach massive audiences in record time, with effectiveness rarely matched elsewhere. Thanks to the advertising performance of live sports, a World Cup, a European Championship, or the Olympic Games become powerful drivers to generate massive exposure for your brand, both on television and digital platforms.
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TV at the Heart of the Game
During an international competition, each individual broadcast draws a high audience, but the true uniqueness of major sporting events lies in the cumulative effect: broadcast after broadcast, millions of unique viewers add up, turning the event into an unmatched advertising exposure concentration.
At the 2022 World Cup, each match averaged 511,000 viewers on RTBF channels, peaking at 1.4 million for the Red Devils’ games. By the end of the event, 3.1 million French-speaking viewers had watched at least one match, representing 71% of TV coverage in just a few weeks.
Moreover, when global sports are on screen, the rest of the audiovisual landscape fades away. Most people watching TV during a sports broadcast are focused on it. For advertisers, this guarantees maximum visibility without distraction. During the last World Cup, RTBF’s market share exceeded 79% during some matches.
Finally, TV audiences for major sporting events are often cross-sectional: a balanced mix among men and women, various social groups, and generations. Few advertising contexts can claim such universality.
Total World Cup 2022 Viewers
Total Euro 2024 Viewers
Total viewers Paris 2024 Olympics
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Global Sports Reshuffle Advertising Cards
A global sporting event not only boosts viewership: it reshapes the advertising market balance by completely changing the distribution of attention among commercially accessible channels. On average, over the last 3 major football tournaments, the commercial market share of RTBF channels has increased dramatically, reaching 56% among individuals aged 4+, a significant rise compared to a normal period.
This trend also reflects in advertising fair-share, meaning the share of contacts delivered by commercial channel ad screens. On average, over the last 3 major football tournaments, RTBF channels delivered over 57% of the GRP available on television in the French-speaking market, with a lead of up to 15 points over the nearest competitor. For advertisers, this means a unmatched concentration of advertising pressure where the audience is strongest.
TV + Digital: the multiplier effect
During major sporting events, digital does not replace TV: it complements it. During the 2022 World Cup, over 13 million live views were recorded on Auvio, RTBF's platform.
On average, Auvio adds +10% incremental audience per match compared to TV alone. This digital audience is younger: 55% of views come from 15-44 year-olds, versus 30% on TV. Result: broader coverage, no cannibalization, across all screens.
For your brand, this TV-Digital complementarity answers a common question: how to reach an engaged audience via football, including young people? The answer is quantified, measured, and proven: activating cross-media boosts reach and effectiveness of advertising around an international sporting event.
Sport Beyond the Image: Experts Speak
RMB invites you to join the conversation about sports and its major events in a more personal and immersive format: the podcast. Two audio sessions, two complementary perspectives, analyzing sport as a true communication accelerator.
Our experts share analyses, insights, and real examples. Discover how major international sporting events can be turned into effective and meaningful media strategies.
2022 World Cup: Key Results
- 3,126,000 total viewers over 64 matches, TV coverage of 71%
- 511,000 average viewers per match (live+vosdal reach 4+)
- highest audience for Belgium/Canada match with over 1.4 million viewers (live+vosdal reach 4+)
- highest market share for Croatia/Belgium matchup: 79% (TTVSH live, 4+)
- excluding the Devils, the final was the most watched match: nearly 1.3 million viewers (live+vosdal reach 4+)
- strong representation of social groups 1-4 (47.1%) among the audience
- nice audience split between men (59.4%) and women (40.6%)
- over 13 million live views on Auvio across the 64 matches
- highest live views on Auvio for Argentina/France final: 1.016 million
- on average per match, Auvio provides additional audience (incremental reach) of 10% compared to TV audience
TV Source: Audimétrie CIM Sud (French-speaking Belgium); Auvio Source: RTBF; World Cup in Qatar (11/20 to 12/18/2022); 64 matches on La Une and Tipik
UEFA Euro 2024: Key Results
- 3,289,000 total viewers across 51 matches, representing 73% TV coverage
- 420,000 average viewers per match, rating of 9.4% (live + timeshift)
- highest audience for France/Belgium match with nearly 1.5 million viewers (live + timeshift reach 4+)
- average market share per match of 42% (Total TV Share live, 4+), rising significantly among men (53% men 18-54)
- average market share of 85% (PRA 18-54 live) for the 4 Devils matches
- with consolidated market share of 36% for ages 15-54 (live; 08h-24h) during competition, RTBF (La Une & Tipik) increased by +52% versus same period in 2023
- the 254 Euro 2024 ad spots yielded a total of 1,654 GRP among PRA 18-54
- 7.9 million total views on Auvio
- greatest Auvio success also for France/Belgium match with 457,381 views
- in terms of age, TV viewers and Auvio visitors are very complementary. TV audience is 30% aged 15-44 while this group accounts for 55% of Auvio views.
TV source: Audimétrie Sud (French-speaking Belgium); Auvio source: RTBF; Euro 2024 in Germany (06/14 to 07/14/2024); 51 matches on La Une and Tipik
Paris 2024 Olympic Games: Key Results
- Total of 2,572,773 viewers, representing TV coverage over 57%
- Each broadcast (all disciplines combined) was followed on average by 124,500 individuals 4+
- Average market share of 22.3% (TTVSH live, 4+) for the entire RTBF coverage (2 ceremonies, events, and magazine)
- Record set by the opening ceremony: 41.8% market share among 4+
- Events with Belgian participation ranked among top audiences: decathlon, 100m qualifications, men's and women's cycling races, Belgium/Spain men's hockey, artistic gymnastics, heptathlon, ...
- Majority presence of social groups 1-4 (54.6%) within the audience
- Perfect balance between male (50.4%) and female (49.6%) viewers
- Nearly 6.9 million views (live + replay) on Auvio (3.7 M), RTBF Actus (2 M), and RTBF partners (1.2 M)
- Increase in Actus.be platform traffic with 3.4 million page views and 1.1 million unique visitors (content tagged "JO 2024")
- 1,201 RTBF social media posts generating nearly 3 million interactions
TV Source: CIM Sud Audience Measurement (French-speaking Belgium); Auvio Source: RTBF; Paris 2024 Olympics (07/26-08/11/2024)