Israel's Public Broadcaster Tops Ratings with World Cup Semi-Final Triple Competitors' Viewership

The World Cup semi-final match between Argentina and England, broadcast on Israel's public channel Kan 11, dominated television ratings on the evening it aired. The game achieved an extraordinary 31.4% rating, making it the most-watched program of the night by a wide margin and significantly impacting viewership across commercial channels.

Channel Keshet 12 attempted to compete with a special broadcast that garnered 12.7% rating, while a rerun of a special interview on the same channel managed only 6.6%. Channel Reshet 13 aired "Power Couple," which attracted 11.4% of viewers. Channel 14's flagship program "The Patriots" faced a tough night, finishing with a 7.6% rating. The new i24news channel recorded the lowest ratings, with just 0.4% for its program "The Israelis."

In the 8 PM news slot, the ratings were less extreme but still influenced by the World Cup buildup. News 12 led with an 11.7% rating, followed by News 14 at 5.7%, News 13 at 5.5%, Kan News at 5%, and i24news closing with 2%. The data highlights the overwhelming impact of the World Cup semi-final on Israeli television viewership patterns.