Entering the knockout stage, the 2014 FIFA World Cup is already on a record pace.
ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC averaged a 2.2 U.S. rating and 3.5 million viewers for the group stage of the World Cup, up 38% in ratings and 46% in viewership from 2010 (1.6, 2.4M) and up 83% and 109% from 2006 (1.2, 1.7M). This year marked the most-watched group stage ever on the ESPN family of networks.
The United States was a driving force behind the increase. Each USA match had at least ten million viewers on ESPN, with USA/Portugal topping the charts (18.2M). By comparison, only one USA group play match topped the ten million mark in 2010 — USA/England on broadcast network ABC (13.1M).
The USA was not the only draw for ESPN. The network earned its largest audience ever for a non-USA World Cup match with Germany/Ghana last Saturday (5.7M). Keep in mind, of course, that sibling ABC has aired several non-USA matches with larger audiences.
Univision also had its most-watched group stage ever, with viewership rising 43% over 2010. The network did not provide the actual viewership figures in a Friday press release. Univision has topped ESPN/ABC in five major markets — Los Angeles (#2), Dallas-Ft. Worth (#5), Houston (#10), Phoenix (#12) and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (#16).
(Group stage averages from ESPN, Univision)
