Though nowhere close to what USA matches have drawn, Fox Sports hit a viewership high for Friday’s other Women’s World Cup quarterfinal.
The Germany/France FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinal drew 1.7 million viewers on FOX Friday afternoon, the largest non-U.S. audience of the tournament thus far. The previous high was 1.4 million for England/Mexico during the group stage. Keep in mind England/Mexico aired on a weekend afternoon, while Friday’s match took place during the workday.
Comparable figures for the 2011 quarterfinals on ESPN were not immediately available.
As should be no surprise, the viewership high for Germany/France equaled barely half the audience of the least-watched United States match — the opener against Australia on Fox Sports 1 (3.3M). The five USA matches have averaged 4.7 million viewers, including 5.7 million for Friday night’s USA/China nightcap.
Overall, the Women’s World Cup has averaged 1.1 million viewers across the Fox Sports family of networks through Friday — up 42% from 2011* on ESPN and ESPN2 (804K).
* The 2011 average is through the full quarterfinal round, while this year’s average is through the first day of the quarterfinals.
(Fri. numbers from Fox Sports)
