Group Stage match versus Costa Rica generates highest audience of the year in Japan
La Albiceleste’s ’s encounter with Mexico draws audience share of 81.3% in Argentina
England v USA most watched men’s football match on US television ever
FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ is continuing to engage TV audiences around the world with record-breaking numbers across multiple markets. In Japan, the group game between Japan and Costa Rica on Sunday 27 November drew an average audience of 36.37 million viewers. This surpassed the audience of their incredible comeback against Germany in their tournament opener by over 10 million and was 74% higher than the average domestic group stage audience during the FIFA World Cup in 2018.
On Thursday 24 November in Korea Republic, 11.14 million people watched their tournament opener against Uruguay. The broadcast saw a 97% increase in TV audience compared to the average for group stage matches at the FIFA World Cup in Brazil in 2014; 18% higher than at Russia 2018. Fans in Europe have also been tuning in for the second round of group stage matches in great numbers On Sunday 28 November, 65% of people watching TV in Spain saw La Roja take on Germany in one of the most anticipated games of the tournament so far. 11.9 million was the combined audience across coverage on La1 and GOL MUNDIAL, exceeding the audience of any group stage game for the FIFA World Cup in 2018.
Incredibly, over three quarters (76.6%) of all people watching TV in the Netherlands witnessed Cody Gakpo’s wonder strike in their 1-1 draw with Ecuador. This was the highest TV audience in the country in 2022 and greater than any match during the FIFA World Cup in 2018. In France, Les Bleus’ encounter with Denmark, was broadcast on TF1. Averaging an audience of 11.6 million viewers, the programme audience peaked in the closing minutes of the match as 14.56 million watched Kylian Mbappe score a late winner. This was the highest peak of the tournament in France so far, beating 14 million viewers during France’s opening match against Australia. Portugal’s match with Uruguay on Monday 28 November was the highest TV audience in Portugal for a FIFA World Cup match ever. In total, 5.35 million viewers in Portugal watched at least one minute of coverage as the team progressed to the knockout stages. The coverage held an audience share of 69.5% as A Seleção got their second win in as many games at the tournament. Over 80% of the Portuguese TV landscape has now watched at least one minute of the tournament’s coverage.
In addition, interest in the beautiful game in the United States continues to grow with new records continuously being broken. The English-language coverage of USA’s encounter with England on Friday 25 November was the most watched men’s football match on US television ever, with a peak audience of 19.65 million viewers on FOX. NBC-Universal’s Spanish-language coverage of the match on Telemundo was the second-most watched FIFA World Cup group stage match featuring a United States team in Spanish-language history. The following day, as Argentina and Mexico met in a crucial Group C tie, the Telemundo broadcast in the US was the most-watched FIFA World Cup Group Stage match in Spanish-language history in the country, and the second largest of any stage, ever. Meanwhile, in Mexico, coverage of the same match delivered a national audience of 20.96 million viewers. The combined share across three channels broadcasting the game was 67.9%. This was higher than the top combined rating in the territory for any match of the FIFA World Cup in 2018.
In addition, the average audience in Canada for their make-or-break tie with Croatia was 4.33 million, with a share of 68.4%. This was 17% higher than Canada’s opening match and 12% higher than the top combined audience in the territory for the 2018 tournament. Passion for the game in South America knows no bounds with fans unsurprisingly as engaged as ever. In Argentina, the average audience for the two-time winners of the FIFA World Cup in their pivotal match with Mexico was 8.48 million; delivering an amazing audience share of 81.3%. The programme audience was the highest of the tournament so far in the country and 5% higher than both their first match against Saudi Arabia, and the average audience for their group stage matches during the FIFA World Cup 2018.
FIFA World Cup delivering record-breaking TV audience numbers
FEARMONGERING & CONTROL
With few exceptions, the majority of humans are endowed with a somewhat balanced emotional and cognitive disposition. Fear, as a primordial element, is part and parcel of our nature. Avoiding fear completely is not a possibility, at least in the case of the majority. Only the bona fide psychopaths can lead their lives without hardly any fear. In fact, when in company of other normal beings (over 90%), psychopaths tend to fake fear and other emotions (empathy, sadness, etc.) with an intention to joining the ‘fearing herd’, i.e., the larger human community! There are enough scientific data to suggest chronic psychopaths who suffer from all sorts of emotional/cognitive imbalances tend to be more ‘fearless’ than others. As a result, they are instinctly pulled to dangerous/confrontational situations; their undeveloped sense of fear leaves them at a disadvantage. In other words, psychopaths are without a built-in restraining mechanism, which has been honed throughout the eons, to help avoid unnecessary violent engagements/activities!
In short, psychopaths are anti-social. When such characters occupy the pinnacles of human institutions, be it within the state or outside of it, society is bound to suffer grave consequences. Wars are just one example perpetrated by power hungry psychopaths. Despite this anomaly of the mentally sick, fear is what defines us as humans along with other animals. In the domain of the Homo sapiens, rational thinking has been modulating fear throughout the ages. Other animals still fear fire, for example. On the other hand, we do not fear typhoons or hurricanes as in the old days, but still are wary of them. Science/technology (satellite, etc.) has managed to track and even predict the trajectory as well as hurricane’s landfall (to a large extent). Even though we are helpless in stopping hurricane’s devastating effects, prior knowledge of their general ferocity and directions have given us a sort of solace. At the same time and unlike wild fires, we don’t even attempt to stop hurricanes. In this case we humbly acknowledge our limits. On the other hand, various epidemics/pandemics like polio, smallpox, yellow fever, etc., (viruses), cholera (bacteria), etc. have been conquered, at least for the time being. At one time these pestilences did induce wide spread (rational) fear within the human community. Today, our fears of such diseases are somewhat tempered, thanks to advances in medicine. There are plenty of examples to show our fears are inversely related to our knowledge, i.e., the more we know the less we fear! Naturally, what we do not understand can still steer fear in us!
Besides the collective fear we all experience as a species, triggered by the likes of the above examples, individuals can face situations that can potentially induce (irrational) fear in them. Phobia, PTSD, etc., arise mostly as consequences of undesirable experiences encountered by individuals. Moreover, one can infer, from experience, the existence of a ‘fear threshold’, so to speak. The ‘fear threshold’ can differ from one individual to another, depending on age, gender, experience, etc. At the end of the day, it is these shared frailties that make us humans! But when fear is systemically induced and intentionally imposed on all humanity by the power that be, the whole project must be suspect. In fact, such a systematic act must be classified as ‘crime against humanity’! In addition, it is important to clarify and not confuse the ‘fearlessness’ of the psychopaths with that of bravery. The ‘fearlessness’ amongst the sick seems to be due to certain physical conditions in the brain. Since psychopaths are born without the faculties that allow them to experience fear like the majority of their human compatriots, they tend to be daring and this is often misconstrued as ‘bravery’. For instance, psychopathic politicos are very eager to declare war, but are not willing to fight it themselves. They also seem willing to pass harsh judgment on other fellow humans, while not willing to accept the same judgment when passed onto them! The Good Book (ten commandment) warned us about such unbecoming deed, labeling it a sin, thousands of years ago. Therefore, as far as psychopaths are concerned, they are above the law and the usual ‘rule and law’ doesn’t apply to them. It is such callous criminal attitude of psychopaths, who are now very much in control of global human affairs, that is disturbing enlightened humanity. Just look at the manifest gangsterism of not only the reigning hegemon, also its minion vassals and lackeys across the planet!
Nazi propaganda was quite effective in creating fear across the world. The mass psychosis thus created was unleashed on millions of unsuspecting citizens. Here are some of the fear-mongering strategies of the Third Reich that have an eerie resonance to the ways of the current deep state. In these collapsing days of the modern world order, Nazi or Fascistic strategies/teachings seem to have found receptive ears within the nation states corridors of power.


