The first appearance of the German national team at the 2026 World Cup drew the country to their screens - and set a new ratings record. As AGF Videoforschung determined, an average of 23.43 million people tuned in to Das Erste on Sunday evening for the 7-1 victory against Curaçao. This eclipsed all previous TV ratings records of the tournament.
Since Thursday, the peak viewership for broadcasts had been 10.04 million viewers, achieved during the opening match between Mexico and South Africa. But the German team's match at Houston Stadium drew even more people to their screens: The pre-game coverage from Texas starting at 6 PM already attracted 11.48 million viewers and a market share of 48.1 percent.
With the kickoff at 7 PM, the numbers then shot up even further. Over the regulation 90 minutes, viewership increased to the aforementioned 23.43 million, with the market share reaching 70.2 percent. Thus, the tournament recorded not only a sporting masterpiece but also a preliminary peak in terms of ratings.
Also a Success Among Younger Audiences
The result was equally impressive in the 14-49 age group, which is particularly relevant to the advertising industry. During the match, 8.44 million viewers in this demographic were watching, corresponding to a market share of 81.5 percent. The pre-match coverage with Esther Sedlaczek and Bastian Schweinsteiger had already achieved 63.9 percent in this age group.
After the final whistle, at a late hour, the documentary "WM 1994 - Elf Helden, ein Albtraum" followed. Interest noticeably declined: 3.04 million viewers stayed tuned, with the market share dropping to 18.8 percent. In the younger target group, there were still 0.90 million viewers and 24.7 percent - figures that would nevertheless be considered strong in normal programming.
