According to figures from Eurodata TV Worldwide - the international databank of television ratings from Mediametrie - the opening game of the 2002 World Cup, which saw Senegal record a shock 1-0 victory over France, impacted heavily on the world's television audiences. The expected rise in ratings comes despite the major time-zone difference between the host nations Japan and South Korea and the soccer-loving European countries.
The largest audience for the game was understandably in France where more than 10 million tuned in to host broadcaster TF1's coverage - an audience share of 76.3 percent.
However, other countries such as Germany and Russia reported significant viewing figures for the opening game with audiences of 6.1 million and 4.4 million for ARD and ORT respectively.
There was also acknowledgement of the growing appeal of football in Asia with high audience levels in China, South Korea and most notably Japan where 7.5 million tuned in to host broadcaster NHK's coverage - a 44.8 percent share of the audience.
