We will likely see a couple more records drop at the 2014 World Cup, including topping the 2010 Final’s combined 24.3 million viewers between ESPN and Univision. The quarterfinals and semifinals, which are still somewhat star-laden despite losing teams like Spain, Italy, England, etc. will draw big numbers. That said, ESPN can’t help but be sorry to lose the ratings goldmine that was the United States.
America’s heartbreaking loss to Belgium in extra time drew a 9.6 rating on ESPN yesterday. That was up five percent over the United States’ loss to Ghana in the Round of 16 in 2010. Of course, that match was on a Saturday afternoon, whereas this one took place on a Tuesday late afternoon. All in all, it was ESPN’s highest-rated World Cup match ever, and only USA-Brazil in the round of 16 in 1994 on ABC tops it within the entire Disney family.
The match peaked from 5:45-6 p.m. ET with a 14.1 rating. WatchESPN peaked with 1.5 million concurrent viewers. New York led all local markets with a stunning 15.0 rating in America’s largest city. It was followed by Hartford, Washington, Richmond, Boston, West Palm Beach, Baltimore, Cincinnati, San Diego, Columbus, Norfolk and Orlando.
ESPN’s six-highest rated World Cup matches have taken place at Brazil 2014. Considering the US has only played in four of them, you can certainly believe that this number will increase through quarterfinals, semifinals, third place match and finals. That said, ESPN’s just as disappointed as any American that their team was knocked out in this stage again.
UPDATE: The Final numbers are in: 16.5 million viewers watched on ESPN. Combined with the 5.1 million on Univision, 21.6 million Americans watched USA-Belgium. For ESPN, it is the third-most watched soccer match of all time, behind USA-Portugal and the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final.
The match peaked with 19.5 million viewers from 5:30 to 6 p.m. ET. WatchESPN also had an average per minute of 1.1 million viewers, likely many on the west coast tuning in from work. Through 56 matches, ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 are averaging 4.08M viewers, up 44 percent from this time in 2010, and up 122 percent from this time in 2006.
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