[TELEVISION WATCH] Sunday’s Women’s World Cup final between the United States and Japan was seen by an average 13.458 million viewers (7.4 U.S. household rating), more than double the previous records for the most-watched and highest-rated soccer telecast on an ESPN network.
The previous record was for the USA-Algeria men’s match at the 2010 World Cup -- 6.16 million viewers, based on a 4.0 household U.S. rating.
The USA-Japan match also ranks as the sixth most-viewed soccer telecast ever in the United States.
Most-Viewed Soccer Events
| Year |
Match |
Event |
Network |
Viewership |
| 1999 |
USA-China |
Women's World Cup |
ABC |
17,975,000 |
| 2010 |
Spain-Netherlands |
World Cup |
ABC |
15,905,000 |
| 2010 |
USA-Ghana |
World Cup |
ABC |
15,193,000 |
| 1994 |
Brazil-Italy |
World Cup |
ABC |
14,510,000 |
| 1994 |
USA-Brazil |
World Cup |
ABC |
13,694,000 |
| 2011 |
USA-Japan |
Women's World Cup |
ESPN |
13,458,000 |
| 2006 |
Italy-France |
World Cup |
ABC |
11,961,000 |
Julio Moreira
