New Delhi–More than 1.7 billion unique viewers worldwide watched FIFA World Cup-related videos on YouTube, while lifetime views of the content surpassed 200 billion, Google CEO Sundar Pichai said Wednesday.
“It was our most viewed World Cup ever on YouTube, bringing lifetime views of related content to over 200 billion!,” Pichai said in a post on X.
Pichai also shared a post by YouTube CEO Neal Mohan highlighting additional audience figures from the tournament.
Mohan said YouTube’s first Creator Cup attracted more than 10 million live views. He added that videos from a group of creators who provided commentary and perspectives throughout the tournament received more than 2.5 million views.
“Congrats on an incredible championship, Spain! And a huge thanks to our partners, creators and teams at YouTube who made the fan experience unlike any other,” Mohan said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said more than 6.5 million spectators attended the tournament, surpassing the combined attendance of the previous two World Cups.
Trump described it as “the most successful sporting event, maybe in the history of the world,” adding that fans from 200 countries attended 104 matches across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The World Cup also disrupted workplaces across the United States and may have reduced productivity by as much as $11.7 billion as millions of employees adjusted their schedules to watch matches, according to a report.
The tournament’s global productivity impact was estimated at nearly $17 billion because of increased absenteeism, late arrivals and early departures, according to data from workforce management company UKG.
Separate data from workplace platform Envoy showed that the largest disruption came the day after the U.S. men’s national team was eliminated. Office attendance fell 26 percent on July 7, while employee entries declined 11.5 percent. (Source: IANS)
