The USWNT is not drawing as well as it did four years ago, thanks to a shift from primetime to weekday afternoons, but the Women’s World Cup continues to trend up nonetheless.
Monday’s United States-Spain FIFA Women’s World Cup round of 16 match earned a 2.5 overnight rating on FS1, down 25% from the comparable USWNT match in 2015, against Colombia (3.3). There was no round of 16 in 2011. Excluding pre-match coverage, it had a 2.7.
This year’s match began at Noon ET, while the 2015 match aired in primetime.
Austin, Tex., led all markets for the FS1 telecast with a 4.7 rating, followed by Richmond, Va. (4.2). West Coast markets San Diego (4.15), Seattle (3.9) and Portland (3.6) rounded out the top five — despite the match starting at 9 AM local time.
Later Monday, Canada-Sweden had a 1.3 overnight. Fox Sports’ Women’s World Cup coverage is now averaging a 0.9 rating in the metered markets (+21%).
Going back to the weekend, France-Brazil earned a 1.7 final rating and 2.84 million viewers on FOX Sunday afternoon — up 183% in ratings and 184% in viewership from France-South Korea in 2015, which aired in a similar timeslot, but on FS1 (0.6, 1.00M).
FOX also drew a 1.2 and 1.92 million for Norway-Australia on Saturday afternoon, up 140% in ratings and 110% in viewership from Germany-Sweden in ’15 (0.5, 912K). That match also aired in a similar timeslot, but on FS1.
Rounding out the weekend action, FS1 scored a 0.8 and 1.26 million for England-Cameroon on Sunday morning — up a third in ratings and 41% in viewership from Brazil-Australia in a similar window four years ago (0.6, 893K). FS1 also drew a 0.6 and 957,000 for Germany-Nigeria on Saturday morning; there was no comparable 2015 window.
Through Sunday, Fox Sports’ Women’s World Cup viewership is up 16% from 2015 (from 927K to 1.07M).
[Numbers from Fox Sports, Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 6.25]
