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AFCON 2025 offered more than football drama. It provided a rare opportunity to observe television audiences under maximum pressure, across multiple African markets, using real-time measurement.
Through AUDIMATIC’s Public Daily TV Audience Dashboard, audience behavior was tracked minute by minute across key countries, revealing clear structural patterns that matter directly to broadcasters, advertisers, and rights holders.
Algeria: national broadcaster dominance and post-match authority
In Algeria, audience concentration was particularly strong.
On key AFCON match days, ENTV consistently ranked first across all channels over a 24-hour period, reaching 8.5%+ daily share, and peaking at 45.6% during live match moments.
Among national sports channels, OnTime Sports reached a 24.7% peak during matches, confirming strong competition at live-event level.
Equally important, post-match analysis reshaped the audience landscape. Channels specializing in debate and commentary regained leadership once the match ended, extending engagement well beyond live play.
Insight for broadcasters:
Owning live rights anchors the day, but editorial depth after the match secures long-tail audience value.
Morocco: dual leadership between national and international channels
Morocco displayed one of the most complex audience structures.
Across full AFCON days, Al Aoula Inter maintained leadership among all channels with 10.7% daily share, and an exceptional 32.4% among national channels, confirming its role as the reference broadcaster.
During live matches, however, dynamics shifted:
- Sportdigital Fussball led all channels during peak moments, reaching 20.7% share
- Al Aoula remained dominant among national channels, peaking at 32.1%
This dual structure highlights coexistence between trusted national broadcasters and high-performing international sports networks.
Insight for advertisers:
Campaign effectiveness depends on timing — national channels for reach, international sports channels for peak intensity.
Egypt: live football as an audience accelerator
Egyptian viewing patterns confirmed the role of football as a temporary audience accelerator.
During the Egypt–Benin AFCON match, international sports channels captured sharp live peaks, overtaking generalist channels at kickoff and during key moments.
Outside match time, audiences rapidly redistributed toward news and entertainment channels.
Insight:
Football creates short, high-impact windows ideal for premium advertising placements and sponsorship activation.
Tunisia: the strategic importance of post-match content
Tunisia offered a different lesson.
While live match audiences were competitive, the most significant movement occurred after the final whistle. Local channels such as Tunisia 2 and Nessma Jadida recovered audiences through studio analysis and debate formats.
Insight:
Post-match programming is not secondary — it is a decisive editorial and commercial asset.
Cross-market takeaways for broadcasters and advertisers
Across AFCON 2025, four strategic conclusions emerge:
- Live rights drive peak dominance, but do not guarantee full-day leadership
- Post-match analysis extends audience value and stabilizes viewing curves
- National viewing cultures remain distinct, requiring local strategies
- Real-time data enables better pricing, scheduling, and content decisions
Why real-time measurement changes the game
By publishing transparent, minute-by-minute audience data, AUDIMATIC transformed AFCON 2025 into a live laboratory of TV consumption.
For broadcasters, this means:
- Smarter rights valuation
- Optimized scheduling and programming
- Evidence-based editorial strategies
For advertisers, it enables:
- Precision targeting around peak moments
- Better ROI measurement
- Informed media planning across markets
AFCON 2025 confirmed one thing clearly:
audience data only creates value when it is immediate, contextualised, and actionable.
Explore the Public Dashboard here