Zug, Switzerland, 06 February 2007 – Television coverage of the 2006 FIFA World Cup™ was the most extensive to date with 376 channels showing the event compared to 232 in 2002. What is more, the 2006 event was aired in a total 43,600 broadcasts across 214 countries and territories in 2006, generating total coverage of 73,072 hours – an increase of 76 percent on the 2002 event (41,435 hours) and a 148 percent increase on 1998. This means that if all the 2006 coverage were shown on just one channel, it would take over eight years to broadcast non-stop.