The return of the Spanish championship has been an international hit, with La Liga saying Thursday that the first round of matches drew almost 50 percent more viewers than the average before the coronavirus interruption.
La Liga “increased its international viewing figures by more than 48 percent on the first matchday (Matchday 28) following the restart of the league on June 11 compared to the average for the first 27 matchdays prior to the forced suspension”, the league said in a statement.
The statement continued that data collected by global research company Nielsen showed that the audience growth was much stronger in some regions than others.
“For example, in Africa there was a rise of over 73 percent, and in countries such as South Africa the increase amounted to more than 210 percent. In Asian countries such as India, where La Liga is broadcast on Facebook, an increase of over 72 percent was detected. In Europe, the uptick was over 56 percent, with countries such as Belgium (an increase of over 130 percent) and Denmark (an increase of over 46 percent).”
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In Spain, the audience grew 12 percent.
The statement did not give details of other regions where the audience grew by less than 48 percent.
