Rabat – Qatar-based sports broadcaster BeIN Sports has announced that it has hit a record-breaking viewership of 93.5 Million cumulative views throughout the 2023 Women’s World Cup in its BeIN Sports channel across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
These figures reflect the region’s growing enthusiasm for women’s sports, which BeIN Sports aimed to encourage by broadcasting select matches, including both semi-finals, the final, and the opening and closing ceremonies, on its free-to-air channel.
The network has broadcasted all 64 games of the tournament live and exclusively in both Arabic and English. The grand finale saw Spain beat England in Sydney, securing their first-ever FIFA Women’s World Cup title.
Building upon the success of its 2019 coverage, beIN Sports created an engaging programming schedule, indicated the channel in a press release.
Viewers were treated to insights and analysis from a range of presenters and analysts, including Areej Sleem, Nicky Crosby, former Jordan captain Ala’a Othman, Moroccan referee Fatima Zohra, among others.
CEO of Qatari media group BeIN Mohammad Al-Subaie said: “When we launched our beINSPIRED initiative in 2019, the aim was to help grow under-represented sports, and one of our focuses was women’s football.”
Read also: BeIN Sports Hit ‘Record-Breaking’ 5.4 Billion Viewers During World Cup
Commenting on the record-breaking viewership of the tournament across the MENA region, Al-Subaie said that “the growth of women’s football is undeniable.” He stressed his media group’s pride in contributing to drive this progress.
The global tournament was filled with thrilling upsets, underdog stories, joy, and “heartbreak,” highlighted the statement.
Nearly two million fans attended the Women’s World Cup games, witnessing a record-breaking 164 goals and the debuts of several countries, including Morocco.
As the sole representative of the MENA region, Morocco made headlines by progressing to the knockout stage at the expense of two-time champions Germany, added the statement.
In addition, Moroccan player Nouhaila Benzina became the first player to wear a hijab at a World Cup.
