The United States’ first match of the World Cup scored one of the best non-NFL audiences of the year.
Monday’s United States/Ghana World Cup match earned approximately 15.9 million viewers combined on ESPN and Univision, down 7% from the first USA match of the 2010 World Cup (17.1M on ABC/Univision). The match ranks as the seventh-most watched sporting event on 2010 (excluding the NFL and the Olympics), trailing only three college football games, two college basketball games, and one telecast each from the NBA and horse racing.
USA/Ghana topped all-but-one NBA playoff game this year, every game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and assorted high-profile events such as the Kentucky Derby (15.3M), the final round of The Masters (11.0M) and the rain-delayed Daytona 500 (9.3M).
ESPN alone earned a 6.3 U.S. rating and 11.1 million viewers for its coverage, the highest rated and most-watched men’s soccer telecast ever on ESPN or ESPN2. The Japan/USA 2011 Women’s World Cup final still ranks as the top soccer telecast on either network (7.4, 13.5M).
Excluding college and pro football games, ESPN’s USA/Ghana telecast ranks as the third-most watched telecast ever on ESPN/ESPN2 and the ninth-most watched sporting event ever on cable.
Univision chipped in 4.8 million viewers for its coverage, the network’s largest audience ever for a USA World Cup match. Though ESPN was the dominant draw for the match, Univision’s coverage topped ESPN in the Los Angeles, Dallas-Ft. Worth and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale markets.
Through Monday, ESPN/ABC has averaged a 2.5 U.S. rating and 4.1 million viewers for World Cup coverage — up 19% in ratings and 21% in viewership from the comparable point in 2010 (2.1, 3.3M). Univision has had a 48% increase in viewership for its coverage, but the network did not disclose figures in a Tuesday press release.
(Mon. numbers from ESPN Media Zone, Univision)
