The first match of the Dutch national team at the European Championship was watched by 5.4 million people, the KijkOnderzoek Foundation reports. That is considerably fewer viewers than at the first game of the Netherlands in 2012, the previous European Championship that Orange participated. Then more than 6.8 million people watched the match against Denmark. In 2008, the start of the Netherlands attracted 6.9 million viewers.
Yesterday’s game was good for a market share of 80 percent. That means eight out of ten people who watched TV were watching the game. “For this time, these are excellent figures,” says NOS viewing figure expert Paul Hek. The viewing figure of 5.4 million is an average over the entire broadcast: at the end, 6.1 million people watched the Orange win.
It is difficult to say why there were far fewer people watching than previous European Championships, but according to Hek, corona most likely plays a role. “As a result, we look at football in a different way, rather also with the empty stadiums. There is a different atmosphere around it.”
In addition, according to Hek, the expectations around the Dutch national team have recently been less and the nice weather could have led to fewer people crawling behind the TV. “But you would think that this has enough urgency. People who want to watch it are not deterred by the weather,” says Hek.
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If the Netherlands continues to win, I think more people will watch.
Football-related programs were popular on television yesterday: in the top 10 of the ratings were only the NOS News from 8 p.m., it RTL News from 7.30 pm, the final of the European Hockey Championships and Postcode Lottery One against 50 not focused on football.
Usually, more and more people tune in to football tournaments when Orange progresses. The most-watched game ever was the semi-final of the Netherlands against Argentina at the World Cup in 2014. More than 9 million people saw the Orange being eliminated.
“If the Netherlands continues to win, and certainly after yesterday’s exciting game, I think more people will watch,” said Hek. The Orange squad won 3-2 against Ukraine last night, after a 0-0 halftime score.
