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The 2014 World Cup in Brazil has shown the
growing global interest in football, according to early
broadcast figures released by the game's governing body
FIFA .
The first round of group matches have shattered TV viewing
records worldwide and highlighted an increase in the amount
of people watching football in countries that aren't known for
their ardent fanaticism.
Fans in countries such as the United States and Australia
have tuned in in their millions to watch their national teams
play in one of the biggest sporting events of the world.
FIFA said the first-round game between the U.S. and Ghana
brought in 11.1 million viewers on ESPN, a record high for its
coverage of World Cup matches.
The opening game of the tournament between Brazil and
Croatia on June 12 had 42.9 million people watching on
Brazilian network TV Globo, FIFA said, making it the most
watched sporting event of the year.
Italy's 1-0 win over England was seen by 14.2 million on
BBC1 in the UK and 12.8 million on RAI 1, the highest TV
audiences in both countries in 2014.
Some 26.4 million in Germany watched Thomas Muller score
a hat-trick in the 4-0 win over Portugal on the ARD channel,
which FIFA said was the country's biggest 2014 TV sports
audience.
Japan's defeat by the Ivory Coast was seen by 34.1 million
on Japanese channel NHK -- double that of its next biggest
sports broadcast this year.
Other viewing highs were achieved in Argentina,
France, the Netherlands, Croatia and the French-
speaking part of Belgium.
"These record-breaking figures show just how
popular football and the FIFA World Cup are
across the world, from Japan to Argentina," FIFA
TV director Niclas Ericson said.
"We are seeing highly encouraging growth in
interest in markets such as the United States and
Australia."
FIFA said it had spent $150 million on
broadcasting the 2010 World Cup in South Africa
and was again investing significant amounts in the
Brazil event.
It said it agreed licensing agreements with over 700 media
broadcasters, ranging from television to radio and the
internet.
"The FIFA broadcast production of all World Cup matches
makes this competition truly global and accessible for fans all
over the world," Ericson said.
"It therefore plays a crucial role in supporting FIFA's core
mission to develop football everywhere, and for all."

COPIED FROM CNN: edition.cnn.com/2014/06/21/sport/football/world-cup-broadcasting-stats/