Japan triumphed 28-21 against Scotland to reach the quarter-finals for the first time and drew more than half the Japanese population to watch the match on terrestrial TV.
The average audience share for the NTV broadcast was 39.2%, but at 9.41pm – as the game reached its conclusion – it was 53.7%.
That means around 60m people were watching the match at its peak.
WOW! 🙌
— Oliver Trenchard (@OliverTrenchard) October 15, 2019
Viewing figures for Japan v Scotland peaked at 53.7% of the Japanese population, averaging at 39.2% – meaning over 60 million were watching at its peak.
Domestic TV audience has now more than doubled since the opening game against Russia. #RWC2019 https://t.co/GAIRNdb4RE
This record will likely not stand long with the Brave Blossoms facing South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals this weekend.
Meanwhile, in the UK, the final pool match drew 4.1m viewers, giving ITV a 41% audience share.
At one point 5.7m people were tuned in to the ITV broadcast!
Rugby World Cup Quarter-finals schedule:
Oct 19 | England v Australia, Oita | 8.15am
Oct 19 | New Zealand v Ireland, Tokyo | 11.15am
Oct 20 |Wales v France, Oita | 8.15am
Oct 20 |Japan v South Africa, Tokyo | 11.15am
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