Audience Patterns in Colombian Football: A Rating Study in Men's and Women's Matches

Football is undoubtedly one of the sports that mobilizes the most emotions and audiences in Colombia, and the rating figures for the latest matches, both for the women's U-20 Women's World Cup and for the men's qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup, reflect the impact that these events have on national television. Based on Claro TV data, important patterns can be identified in terms of audience behavior, differences between broadcast channels, and the demographic distribution of the public.

Women's Soccer

In women's soccer, the group stage matches broadcast by Claro TV show a notable growth in audience interest. One of the most relevant matches was the match between Colombia and Cameroon, played on Tuesday, September 3, 2024, which reached a total rating of 10.6 points on Caracol, followed by 3.27 points on RCN. This match stands out for being the highest in terms of ratings in the group stage.

In terms of regions, the match's audience was distributed diversely. The Central region had the highest rating with 50.53%, followed by the Pacific with 13.50% and Antioquia with 12.40%. Other regions such as the East and the Caribbean had a participation of 9.22% and 8.6%, while the Eje Cafetero region had a 5.76% audience share. These data show how interest in this event was distributed throughout the country.

Regarding socioeconomic strata, the data reflect that stratum 3 had the highest audience percentage with 14.22%, closely followed by stratum 5 with 14.13%. Stratum 4 reached 14.06%, while strata 2, 1 and stratum 6 registered 13.74%, 13.06% and 12.09% respectively. These percentages show a wide distribution of the audience in different socioeconomic levels, with greater concentration in strata 3, 4 and 5.

Another important match was the match between Colombia and Mexico, played on Friday, September 6, 2024, which reached a total rating of 7.63 points. 5.75 rating points by the Caracol channel and 1.88 by the RCN channel. In this case, the audience in the Centro region was 48.06%, while in the Pacific it reached 13.79%. Other regions such as Antioquia had 12.66% and the Caribbean 10.1%. The Eastern region had 9.55% audience rating, while the Coffee Axis reached 5.83%.

In terms of socioeconomic strata, the Colombia and Mexico match also showed a wide audience distribution. Stratum 2 reached 10.73%, while stratum 1 had 6.9%, with a slight drop in strata 5 and 6, which recorded 7.86% and 7.14%, respectively.

Men's Soccer

One of the most relevant matches was the match between Peru and Colombia, played on Friday, September 6, 2024, which reached a total rating of 16.63 points. In this match, Caracol led with 13.1 points, followed by RCN with 3.53 points. This match was one of the most watched, highlighting the high interest of the Colombian public in their national team.

Regarding the distribution of the rating by region, the match between Peru and Colombia showed a high level of tuning in various parts of the country. The Antioquia region reached 12.92%, while the Pacific registered 13.47%. The Center showed a significant audience with 47.53%, being one of the regions with the highest participation. Other regions such as the East and the Caribbean had 9.73% and 10.22% respectively, while the Coffee Axis registered 6.13%.

In terms of socioeconomic strata, the Peru-Colombia match stood out mainly in stratum 3, which had a 16.85% audience share, followed by stratum 4 with 16.82% and stratum 5 with 16.74%. Strata 1 and 6, although with lower participation, also recorded significant data with 16.03% and 15.96% respectively.

Another important match was Colombia vs. Argentina, played on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, which reached a total rating of 12.92 points. Caracol again led the broadcast with 10.15 points, followed by RCN with 2.77 points.

Regarding the regional distribution of the audience, the Antioquia region recorded a 12.34% share, while the Pacific reached 13.49% and the Center 46.75%. The Eastern region had 9.43%, and the Caribbean showed 12.16%, evidencing a wide distribution of the audience in various regions of the country.

In the socioeconomic strata, the match between Colombia and Argentina stood out in strata 5 and 6, with participations of 14.09% and 14.19% respectively. Stratum 4 had a close audience, with 13.54%, while stratum 3 had the lowest but distinctive participation of 12.57% in rating.

The third most watched match was Paraguay vs. Brazil, also played on Tuesday, September 10, 2024, which reached a total rating of 11.21 points. Caracol led again with 8.7 points, while RCN obtained 2.51 points. In terms of regional distribution, the highest audience was recorded in the Center, with 48.85%, followed by the Pacific with 13.66% and Antioquia with 12.75%. Other regions such as the East and the Caribbean showed audiences of 9.13% and 9.22%, respectively.

The data by socioeconomic strata for the Paraguay vs. Brazil match indicated that stratum 3 had 11.52% participation, followed by stratum 4 with 11.53% and stratum 2 with 11.12%. Strata 5 and 6 recorded more moderate audiences, with 10.79% and 9.54%, respectively.

Finally, the match between Bolivia and Venezuela, played on Thursday, September 5, 2024, was the one that registered the lowest rating among those analyzed from dates 7 and 8 of the qualifiers, with a total of 4.68 points. Caracol scored 3.71 points and RCN scored 0.97 points.

In conclusion, both women's and men's football have captured a wide audience in Colombia, demonstrating the growing interest in both genders of the sport. The data reflects that women's matches, such as Colombia vs. Cameroon, have reached high levels of audience ratings, which shows a notable increase in the popularity of women's football. Regions such as the Center, the Pacific and Antioquia have been key in the growth of the female audience, while all socioeconomic strata have shown a balanced distribution of audience ratings.

Meanwhile, men's football, with matches such as Peru vs. Colombia, continues to maintain solid interest. However, the data shows that women's football is rapidly gaining ground, consolidating itself as an important attraction for national television. This marks an inclusive and diverse trend in the audience, reflecting the progress of women's sport in the country and its ability to generate as much excitement as men's football.

Audience patterns

Team Centro Nacional de Consultoría