AFC Champions League Sees Record Viewers

The Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League has continued to see record audience figures during the Group Stages of the 2012 edition.

Viewing figures across Australia, China, Japan, Korea and the Middle East have seen significant increases over the competition’s showing during 2011, with cumulative audiences rising by an impressive 46 percent.

Ratings across the four nations and the Middle East show almost 200 million viewers – with a combined reach of more than 671 million – tuned in to watch Asia’s leading clubs face off in the Group Stages of the annual continental club championship, which pits domestic league champions and cup winners against one another.

Such has been the popularity of Chinese Super League champions Guangzhou Evergrande that games featuring the club from southern China occupy the top five most-watched matches in the competition in China so far this season.

Guangzhou’s progress to the knockout rounds of the AFC Champions League has given the tournament a significant boost, with China contributing a combined viewership of almost 92 million for the Group Stages and a total of 105 million so far this season.

The cumulative TV audience in China for the 2012 AFC Champions League is already 47 million ahead of the 58 million total achieved for the whole competition in 2011.

The competition’s popularity among TV viewers is also reflected in Japan, where the AFC Champions League garnered 86.37 million viewers for the Group Stages, an increase of 43 percent over figures at the same stage in 2011.

The figure is just shy of the highest recorded figures for the tournament in Japan, when 86.87 million watched the Group Stages in 2009.

And the story is much the same in the Middle East where 19.46 million viewers watched the Group Stage of the competition, an increase of 6.56 million – or 51 percent – on those recorded in 2011.

Those figures are sure to increase when the latter stages of the competition kick off in late September, with three clubs from Saudi Arabia involved in the quarterfinals.

“I am happy that the AFC Champions League viewership continues to increase and this is because of the well-planned and intense efforts of the AFC to raise the quality of play on the pitch as well as the all-round tournament standards,” said AFC Acting President Zhang Jilong.

“The rise in television audience numbers also underlines our belief that we are headed in the right direction as far as the continent’s premier club competition is concerned. This is good news for all our sponsors too as their brands get maximum visibility and exposure in Asia.”

“It’s very encouraging to witness the continued growth in popularity of the AFC Champions League as the profile of club football at continental level increases,” said Nick Mould, President, East Asia, World Sport Group.

“Since its inception in 2002, the AFC Champions League has given clubs greater opportunities both on the field of play and commercially while the experience gained by players and officials alike has played a major role in improving the standard of football throughout Asia.

“With the emergence of teams such as Guangzhou Evergrande joining established clubs like Bunyodkor and Al Ittihad, who have enjoyed prolonged success at this level, we are confident the profile and quality of the competition will continue to grow further.”

Two-time winners Al Ittihad host Guangzhou Evergrande in Jeddah on September 19 before the return fixture is held in China on October 2. Fellow Saudi sides Al Ahli and Al Hilal take on Iran’s Sepahan and Ulsan Hyundai from Korea Republic respectively.

Adelaide United from Australia’s A-League, meanwhile, will face off against Bunyodkor of Uzbekistan in the remaining quarterfinal, with the semifinals due to be played on October 24 and 30 with the final to be played in November.