Despite facing competition from the NBA Finals, the third USA Women’s World Cup match did well on FOX.
The United States/Nigeria FIFA Women’s World Cup match drew a 2.8 final rating and 5.0 million viewers on FOX Tuesday night, up 285% in viewership from the third USA match in 2011, against Sweden on ESPN (1.3M). The match ranks as the third-most watched Women’s World Cup telecast on record (dating back to 1995), trailing only the final in 1999 (18.0M) and 2011 (13.5M).
The three USA group play matches rank among the eight most-watched Women’s World Cup telecasts on record, with Friday’s match against Sweden fifth (4.5M) and the June 8 match against Australia eighth (3.3M). The matches averaged 4.3 million viewers across FOX and Fox Sports 1, up 207% from 2011 (1.4M).
Keep in mind USA’s win aired directly opposite Game 6 of the NBA Finals on ABC, which earned a 13.4 final rating and 23.5 million viewers. It also faced tough competition from the NBC reality show America’s Got Talent, which had a 6.0 and 10.2 million.
St. Louis was the top market for Tuesday’s match with a 6.5 rating, followed by Austin, TX (5.1), New York (4.9), Milwaukee (4.8) and Washington, D.C. (4.7).
Among adults 18-49, USA/Nigeria drew a 1.8 rating — up 13% from Friday’s match against Sweden (1.6). It trailed both the NBA (8.9) and America’s Got Talent (2.3) in the demo.
(Tue. numbers from Fox Sports, additional info from TV Media Insights)
