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The story
It’s been revealed that the household rating for the Kirin Cup 2026 final between Japan and New Zealand, broadcast on TV Asahi on the 5th, hit 16.7%, with a peak of 20.5%. That’s a high number for a friendly match, which prompted surprised reactions on 5ch’s Geisoku-Hayabusa (entertainment/sports news) board like “Who on earth is watching this?” At the same time, reports circulated that the baseball final at the Asian Games, held around the same period, drew a 0% rating, sparking a back-and-forth debate over which sport is more popular, soccer or baseball. The thread also touched on attendance figures and ticket revenue for the national team matches, as well as commentary from pundit Yasutaro Matsuki.
It was revealed on the 6th that “Kirin Cup Soccer 2026 Final: Japan vs. New Zealand” (7:23 p.m. to 9:35 p.m.), broadcast on the TV Asahi network on the 5th, recorded an average household rating of 16.7%. The individual viewer rating was 11.2%. (Figures are for the Kanto region, per Video Research.)
[Photo] Haruka Fukuhara watches the Japan national team match live! A ring sparkles on her left ring finger
The peak rating was 20.5% for households (9:23-9:24 p.m.) and 13.5% for individuals (9:22-9:24 p.m.).
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
who's even watching this?
It's pulling 20% for a practice match? lol
Soccer really is popular
How do people these days put up with all that downtime where nothing happens?
Kicking a ball around is boring, but there are people out there watching something way more boring than that 😁
First, Gen Z (under 25). Slight upward trend, but still under 10% across the board. Seems like pretty few people in this generation are interested in baseball.
The core demo (ages 13-49) isn't high either. Slightly trending upward, but more than 5 points below the overall individual rating.
By age, it's the middle-aged and elderly who prop up the popularity. The 50s-60s bracket runs 7-8 points above the overall individual rating. And once you hit 70+, it's nearly double the overall figure. Baseball really is a sport propped up by its older viewers.
https://livedoor.blogimg.jp/rock1963roll/imgs/1/9/1982bc18.jpg
🇻🇪VEN @ Edion Peace Wing: 27,882
🇪🇨ECU @ Nissan Stadium: 65,012
🇳🇿NZL @ MUFG National Stadium: 61,812
200,000 people across 4 matches
As expected from Japan's #1 most popular sport
Looking at the crowd at national team matches, they really are young
That's because Matsuki hypes it up for no reason lol
That guy's good at it
Japan national soccer team
4 domestic test matches
🇺🇾URU @ Q Stadium: 44,070
🇻🇪VEN @ Edion Peace Wing: 27,882
🇪🇨ECU @ Nissan Stadium: 65,012
🇳🇿NZL @ MUFG National Stadium: 61,812
Ticket revenue alone for the 4 matches: roughly ¥3 billion
On top of that there's also
broadcast rights fees, merchandise sales, and sponsorship income from partner companies
ps://youtu.be/dtd1d0VEZIw?si=J-BWH9XKQLgvHmYr
ps:///youtu.be/P1LZBlf9aiU?si=qU3wznBbZAAf2kqT
The Japan Football Association is raking it in
That's about one day's worth of “yakyuu” (a mocking spelling of 野球/baseball) revenue right there
I get why soccer fans see Ohtani as the enemy
It was just Ohtani personally being celebrated and causing a fever — baseball itself has been flat the whole time
Watching over Kubo
Haruka Fukuhara-chan
Soccer's popularity is just too strong
Asian Games
Soccer final: 14.4%
Baseball final: 0%
Apparently
can't even laugh at baseball for it anymore
That's still more stacked than the baseball version's "Asian Cup" lineup of Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and some random Australia
Background and Key Points of This Topic
It’s worth noting that this figure is the average household rating for the Kanto region per Video Research, a separate metric from the 11.2% individual rating. The reason the thread was surprised is that the Kirin Cup, despite being an international friendly, posted such a high number. A string of posts comparing it to the low ratings of the baseball international tournament held around the same time followed, escalating into a back-and-forth over which sport is more popular. That said, broadcast time slots and the level of attention each tournament draws differ by sport, so simple comparisons have their limits. Readers should also keep in mind that the specific attendance and ticket revenue figures cited in the thread are the posters’ own tallies, with no clear sourcing.
*This article is compiled and summarized/excerpted from the 5ch (Geisoku-Hayabusa+) thread “[Soccer] Japan National Team Friendly: Kirin Cup Final… Peak Rating Hits 20.5%! Averages a High 16.7% Too“.
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