The end of the United States’ World Cup run drew big numbers on ABC Saturday afternoon.
Ghana’s 2-1 win over the United States drew an 8.2 final rating and 14.863 million viewers on ABC Saturday afternoon, according to Nielsen fast-nationals.
The match ranks as the most-viewed Men’s World Cup game ever in the U.S., and the third-highest rated — behind only the Brazil/Italy final in 1994 (9.5) and the Brazil/USA quarterfinal that same year (9.3).
The 1999 USA/China Women’s World Cup final drew an 11.4 rating and 17.975 million viewers, still the highest rated, most-viewed soccer telecast on a single network.
The match also drew 4.5 million viewers on Univision. The combined audience of 19.4 million viewers is the largest ever for a soccer telecast in the U.S., topping Brazil/Italy in 1994 (18.1 mil) and the 1999 Women’s World Cup Final (which only aired on ABC).
Saturday’s match finished well ahead of USA/England on June 12, which drew a 7.4 and 13.130 million viewers on ABC (17.1 mil on ABC/Univision).
Including pregame coverage, Ghana/USA drew a 7.5 rating and 13.505 million viewers, also up from USA/England (6.2, 10.811 mil on ABC).
Excluding the NFL and primetime Olympic telecasts, ABC’s telecast of Ghana/USA ranks as the 15th-most viewed sports telecast of 2010. Including the Univision audience, the match ranks as the 6th-most viewed sporting event.
The ABC telecast of the match outdrew Butler/Michigan St. in the Final Four, Game 1 of the NBA Finals, the Fiesta and Orange Bowls, the Daytona 500 and every game of the Stanley Cup Final.
Ghana/USA drew a massive 15.4 rating in San Diego, the largest local rating for the match. Washington, D.C. (13.8), San Francisco (13.3), Cincinnati (12.9) and Las Vegas (11.7) round out the top five.
20 Most-Viewed Sporting Events of 2010
Excludes the NFL and primetime Olympic telecasts.
The combined ABC/Univision audience for USA/England (17.1 mil) would rank as the 9th-largest audience.
The combined ABC/Univision audience for USA/Ghana (19.4 mil) would rank as the 6th-largest audience.
| # | Date | Game/Event | Net | Rating | Viewers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Thu., 1/7/10 | BCS: Alabama/Texas |
ABC
|
17.2
|
30,776
|
| 2 | Thu., 6/17/10 | NBA: Celtics/Lakers Game 7 |
ABC
|
15.6
|
28,203
|
| 3 | Sun., 2/28/10 | Oly: USA/Canada |
NBC
|
15.2
|
27,600
|
| 4 | Fri., 1/1/10 | BCS: Ohio St./Oregon |
ABC
|
13.2
|
24,025
|
| 5 | Mon., 4/5/10 | NCAA BB: Duke/Butler |
CBS
|
14.2
|
23,994
|
| 6 | Sun., 6/13/10 | NBA: Lakers/Celtics Game 5 |
ABC
|
10.8
|
18,654
|
| 7 | Tue., 6/15/10 | NBA: Celtics/Lakers Game 6 |
ABC
|
10.4
|
17,960
|
| 8 | Sun., 4/11/10 | Golf: The Masters, Final Round |
CBS
|
10.7
|
16,676
|
| 9 | Sat., 5/1/10 | Horse Racing: Kentucky Derby | NBC |
9.8
|
16,540
|
| 10 | Thu., 6/10/10 | NBA: Lakers/Celtics Game 4 |
ABC
|
9.9
|
16,371
|
| 11 | Tue., 6/8/10 | NBA: Lakers/Celtics Game 3 |
ABC
|
9.6
|
15,959
|
| 12 | Sat., 4/3/10 | NCAA BB: Duke/West Va. |
CBS
|
9.2
|
15,823
|
| 13 | Sun., 6/6/10 | NBA: Celtics/Lakers Game 2 |
ABC
|
9.2
|
15,718
|
| 14 | Fri., 1/1/10 | BCS: Florida/Cincinnati |
FOX
|
8.5
|
15,533
|
| 15 | Sat., 6/26/10 | World Cup: Ghana/USA |
ABC
|
8.2
|
14,863
|
| 16 | Sat., 4/3/10 | NCAA BB: Butler/Mich. St. |
CBS
|
8.6
|
14,460
|
| 17 | Thu., 6/3/10 | NBA: Celtics/Lakers Game 1 |
ABC
|
8.6
|
14,088
|
| 18 | Mon., 1/4/10 | BCS: Boise St./TCU |
FOX
|
8.2
|
13,819
|
| 19 | Sun., 3/28/10 | NCAA BB: Duke/Baylor |
CBS
|
8.6
|
13,758
|
| 20 | Sun., 2/14/10 | NASCAR: Daytona 500 |
FOX
|
7.7
|
13,294
|
