World Cup Final Audience 700 million expected

No Goal has been scored so far – 1st half is over.

A global television audience of more than 700 million is expected to watch the World Cup final Sunday.

FIFA signed deals allowing every country in the world to watch the Netherlands play Spain, head of television Niclas Ericson said.

“We think (Sunday’s match) will be bigger than the 2006 World Cup final, which was I believe around 700 million,” Ericson said.

Ericson said FIFA expects a record audience Sunday for any sports broadcast in Spain, and a market share of more than 90 percent of Dutch viewers.

If the World Cup final meets predictions, it will beat the estimated 600 million audience for the opening ceremony at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.