Asian Cup organisers have said they are expecting record television audiences for the 2015 edition of the national team football showpiece, which kicks off in Australia on Friday.
The 2015 Asian Cup will open on January 9 in Melbourne as the host nation takes on Kuwait. An audience reach of 800 million is expected for the 23-day tournament, with Asian Football Confederation general secretary Dato’ Alex Soosay stating the time zone of the matches being played is a major factor behind the record audience projections.
“The tournament is being played in a time zone similar to the largest Asian markets of East Asia while the participation of nine West Asian countries gives us confidence of the expected TV audience,” he said.
“The AFC Asian Cup has grown in stature in all aspects over the last 15 editions and I am confident that this edition will break all records in terms of attendance and television viewership.”
In Australia, pay-television broadcaster Fox Sports holds the live rights to all 32 matches, while public-service broadcaster the ABC will broadcast all of the host nation’s group matches on a two-hour delay and finals games live, if Australia qualifies.
Outside of the AFC’s member nations, rights deals have been secured with Brazilian media group Globo, pay-television broadcaster Sky New Zealand and North American pay-television broadcaster One World Sports for the US and Canadian markets.
Pan-regional broadcaster Eurosport will broadcast the Asian Cup throughout Europe.