[TELEVISION WATCH] Sunday's World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands on ABC was the most-watched men's World Cup game ever in the USA with 15,545,000 viewers. Only the 1999 Women's World Cup final averaged more viewers for a soccer game -- 17,975,000.
The 9,389,000 households are second most for a men's game behind only the 9,455,000 for the 2010 USA-Ghana round of 16 game, and the 8.1 household rating was the fourth highest-rated men's World Cup game on record, behind the 1994 Italy-Brazil final (9.5 rating), 1994 USA-Brazil round of 16 match (9.3) and USA-Ghana game (8.5).
San Francisco (14.7)
San Diego (13.6)
New York (13.1)
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (12.0)
Washington, D.C. (11.9)
Los Angeles (11.3)
Austin, Texas (10.4)
Seattle-Tacoma (10.0)
Cincinnati (9.5)
Boston (9.1)
“The 2010 FIFA World Cup was an overwhelming success for ESPN,” said John Skipper, ESPN executive vice president, content. “We experienced record viewership across multiple platforms, including television, broadband, online and ESPN Audio, and it was evident from the overwhelmingly positive reaction just how much fans were drawn to the spectacle of this global sports event. We are already looking ahead with great anticipation to the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil.”
The 2010 World Cup ranks as the most-viewed World Cup ever on English-language TV in the United States.
In 64 matches, the ESPN networks (ESPN/ESPN2/ABC) averaged:
-- 2.1 U.S. household rating (+31% from 2006)
-- 2,288,000 households (+32%), and
-- 3,261,000 viewers (41%).
Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (3.9)
New York (3.6)
Washington, D.C. (3.6)
San Diego (3.5)
San Francisco (3.5)
Christopher Holden
