Brazil game worst viewer rating translation
Television is still stuck. This week's Togari TV is a relay series that talks about programs that "stuck" in the heart. This time, we will talk about the TV broadcast of the 2026 soccer World Cup.
Brazil game becomes the worst viewer rating
It was an unusual number for Japan in the World Cup.
The average household audience rating of the first round of the final tournament, Japan vs. Brazil, broadcast on Fuji Television Network, was 15.9% (according to Video Research, Kanto area, hereinafter the same). This is an astonishing number for a game that kicks off at 2: 00 am on Monday night. The overall individual audience occupancy rate is also 49.5%. About half of the people watching TV at that time were watching the Japan national team game.
However, this figure was also reported as the worst against Japan in the World Cup.
Why did the numbers fall so far?
The biggest reason is probably the time zone. It is not easy to watch the game at 2 o'clock in the middle of the night on weekdays in real time. Furthermore, this time, it was relayed and distributed not only on terrestrial Fuji TV but also on NHK BS and DAZN. It is natural to think that the audience is dispersed.
And there was something that stood out in the dispersion: a commentary by former Japan representative Keisuke Honda.
Following the previous tournament, Honda's presence in the Japan national team match was extraordinary in this tournament as well. The first match against the Netherlands was broadcast on NHK General, recording an average household audience rating of 27.1%. Despite the broadcast from 5 o'clock in the early morning, Honda's words were the most talked about on SNS.
Not only a calm analysis like a soccer player, but also frank words that make you say what you think in Kansai dialect. Reactions that are close to the emotions of the viewers. It was even more interesting because it was played in a serious place called NHK.
In the previous tournament, many viewers enjoyed Honda's free commentary in the net broadcast. However, this time, Honda talks freely in the "proper place" of NHK's World Cup broadcast. That unexpectedness must have stuck even stronger in the hearts of viewers.
In the following game against Tunisia, an unusual event occurred. It was relayed by Nippon Television. The average household audience rating was recorded at 30.2%, but Honda appeared as a commentator here as well.
In the past, soccer broadcasts had different colors for each station. For example, if it was TV Asahi, there was a famous commentary called "If it was this station, this person" such as Yasutaro Matsuki's passionate commentary. Basically, each broadcasting station had a commentator and commentator, and each broadcaster played as a relay.
"It's hard when Mr. Honda is here."
However, this time, Honda, which became a hot topic on NHK, also appeared on Nippon Television. It seemed that Honda's commentary was functioning as "common content" to liven up the whole World Cup rather than being enclosed by each station.
Nippon Television had a lot of close-ups of Honda's words even in advance programs. There was also a reaction that this seemed too variety. Certainly, if the program side creates too much atmosphere of "Honda-san, please say something interesting," there are places where the viewer cools down.
However, in the sense that I told the light layer that "Honda's explanation is interesting," the method of making NTV should not have been bad.
And the match against Sweden. This match, which was broadcast on NHK General, recorded an average household audience rating of 35.0%. Here again, Honda's commentary became a hot topic and attracted many responses on SNS.
In this way, Honda commentary increased its presence with each episode, and the presence of the commentator became part of the motivation for viewing.
The most obvious example was the match against Brazil.
Fuji TV broadcasted the game on terrestrial television, but Keisuke Honda served as a commentator on NHK BS. It was also broadcast on DAZN. Viewers chose not only where to watch the same Japan vs. Brazil game, but also whose voice to watch.
Such changes in the viewing environment may also have been behind the figure of 15.9%. In fact, on SNS, there were a series of voices such as "I started watching at Fuji, but I came to BS in search of Mr. Honda's explanation," "I changed from Fuji to NHK BS in the second half, but Honda's explanation is more interesting after all," and "I moved from Fuji to NHK BS in the second half because Mr. Honda is tired."
Of course, this is not to say that Fuji TV's coverage was bad. There were also voices that evaluated Shinji Ono's polite commentary, and there were also voices that took it favorably. It is also good to take 15.9% in the game at 2 o'clock in the middle of the night, if you think calmly.
Still, it was true that many viewers were concerned about what Honda was saying during the game.
What was even more interesting was that Honda's commentary was not only "interesting," but also played a role in relieving viewers' tension.
Don't you want to be nervous even if it's a sports broadcast?
"Honda's commentary is good because it melts the tension," "Honda's commentary unwinds the strings of tension," and "I'm nervous, so I want Honda's commentary."
Tension is also the real thrill of sports broadcasting. However, modern viewers may not be looking for a broadcast that just continues to be excited by tension. Because it was a game with a strong sense of tension, Honda s frank words and a slightly off-topic reaction allowed viewers to breathe and enjoy the game purely.
What I saw during this World Cup coverage was both the limitations and possibilities of television.
Looking only at the audience rating, it is no longer the era when all of Japan gathers on one terrestrial wave like the former World Cup relay. There is BS, there is distribution, and other broadcasts are also flowing on SNS. I felt that the audience rating of 30% is one of the limits that can be put out on current TV.
However, what we saw this time was not only the decline of television. People still see television as something special. Honda spoke frankly in the "proper place" of NHK and terrestrial broadcasting. There were people who were amused by the gap and pleased to see Honda on TV.
And the appointment of Honda across the boundaries of stations was also a big event for future TV relayers.Monopolizing is not the only value. It will be necessary for future TV to create elements that make you want to see this broadcast even across stations.
The atmosphere of television changes little by little every time an irregular event occurs. Rather than just broadcasting, what kind of form is broadcast? Here, I felt the fun and possibilities unique to television.
Text / Writer Kamiyama
# tv Kansai Dialect # Yasutaro Matsuki by Keisuke Honda # brazil
私自身も2026年のワールドカップ日本戦をリアルタイムで深夜に観戦しましたが、視聴率が落ちたと言われる理由に非常に共感しました。特に今回のブラジル戦が午前2時キックオフという厳しい時間帯であったことは、視聴者にとって大きなネックです。実際、私も数回に分けて視聴を試みましたが、睡眠とのバランスを取りながらの観戦は難しく、録画視聴に切り替えた人も多いのではないでしょうか。 また、地上波フジテレビだけでなく、NHK BSやDAZNでも同時中継されていたため、視聴者が分散しやすかったのも大きな要因です。SNSの反応を見ていると、多くの視聴者が「誰の解説で見るか」を重視していたことが印象的でした。私も同様に、元日本代表でサッカーに対する深い知見と親しみやすい関西弁での率直なコメントが特徴の本田圭佑さんの解説に惹かれ、NHK BSの中継に切り替えました。 本田さんの解説は、単なる技術的な分析にとどまらず、時折見せるユーモアや感情のこもった言葉が視聴者の緊張を和らげ、試合の緊迫感と楽しさのバランスを取っていたように感じます。私も緊張感が高まる一方で本田さんの軽妙なトークに救われた一人です。こうした解説者の存在は、今後も視聴者の中継選択に大きな影響を与えるでしょう。 一方で、テレビ中継は視聴環境が多様化し、単に高視聴率を誇る昔のような形態ではなくなっています。私の周囲でも、スマホやPCなどで配信を選ぶ人が増え、テレビのリアルタイム視聴が分散している状況です。今回のように複数の放送局が異なる解説者を起用することで、視聴者が好みや気分に合わせて選べるのは歓迎すべき変化だと思います。 最後に今回のブラジル戦の視聴率低下は決してテレビ中継の衰退ではなく、多様な視聴スタイルと個々の好みに対応する過渡期の現象だと思います。今後も、視聴者の声に応えつつ、より面白い解説や演出を工夫することで、サッカー中継の楽しみ方が広がっていくでしょう。私もこれからも好きな解説者を追いかけながら、リアルタイムでも録画でもワールドカップ観戦を楽しみたいと考えています。
