Asian Cup Viewership Numbers: Growing But Stunted

Soccer is inarguably the world’s sport, however acceptance to the top flight of sports in certain nations is yet to come. Despite not advancing out of a tough group with powerhouses Spain and Netherlands, as well as surprise second-place finisher Chile, Australia did have a relatively strong showing in the most recent World Cup — particularly in the narrow 2-3 loss to Spain. Even going back to the 2010 World Cup where the Socceroos were edged by goal differential after finishing group play tied at second place with Ghana, the support from television broadcasters hasn’t translated well for Australian soccer.

Australia is currently hosting the 2015 Asian Cup, where 16 teams from around the Pacific and Indian Oceans have been hitting the pitch, and Australia is just one victory away from making the finals. The path for Australia — and for viewers — hasn’t been the easiest one however. Each match Australia has played has been televised on ABC (Australian Broadcasting Company) or Fox Sports in Australia with casts on CCTV-5 for China, with other broadcast partners showing games around the world. These numbers do not reflect various streaming services either — strictly television.

After finishing second in their group behind South Korea, Australia dispatched China 2-0, as over 95 million people spread across the globe tuned in at some point during the match. From China, an average of 27 million people watched the quarter final matchup, shattering the previous record of 23 million. China is not alone in their upward numbers, as both Japan and South Korea have seen rises in viewership. With the success of the television numbers — numbers that should be taken with a large grain of salt as any viewer using an unofficial stream is not counted — it is curious to find that ABC is airing only the Australia games live. Fox Sports has handled all other games, though some were shown on a tape delay.

Here in North America exclusive Asian Cup coverage has been given to ONE World Sports, a channel that is unfortunately limited in availability. After ESPN lost out on the World Cup broadcast rights it would have made sense for them to get back into the soccer game with a tournament of this size. Given NBC’s recent expansion into European soccer, grabbing the Asian market would have also made sense for them.

For now, as a big fan of the South Korean team, I’m forced to find alternative online options rather than watching on TV, even though my TV package includes dozens of sports channels. If time zone differences are the argument against showing the Asian Cup — and given my sleep schedule over the past weeks, that is a strong argument to make — then how is Canada streaming the games via ONE World Sports, while the United States is left in the dark? While the popularity of soccer continues to gain ground here in the United States, if the old saying of “misery loves company” is true then Australia is our brother in the struggle to find the proper medium to deliver sports content.