The second USWNT match in the Women’s World Cup set a group stage record in the overnight ratings.
Sunday’s United States-Chile FIFA Women’s World Cup match had a 3.8 overnight rating on FOX, including pre-match coverage — up 19% over the second U.S. match in 2015, a Friday night matchup against Sweden (3.2). The 3.8 is the highest ever for any Women’s World Cup group stage match.
Excluding the pre-match window, it had a 4.1 overnight — up 71% from the first USWNT match of the tournament, against Thailand last Tuesday afternoon (2.4). Match window figures for the U.S.-Sweden match four years ago were unavailable.
Keep in mind that the Thailand match last Tuesday posted an increase in the overnights, only to decline double-digits in the final nationals. That will probably not happen this time around; Sunday’s 19 percent increase in the metered markets is far more likely to hold than Tuesday’s four percent bump.
San Diego led all markets with a 6.7 rating, despite the match starting at 9 AM ET. Washington, D.C., ranked second at a 5.8. Tulsa (5.5), Kansas City (5.4) and Cincinnati (5.0) rounded out the top five.
As one would expect, the match ranks as the highest rated English-language soccer telecast in the metered markets since last year’s World Cup final.
In other Women’s World Cup action, FOX earned a 1.1 for England-Argentina on Saturday afternoon (including pre-match coverage) — down a tick from England-Mexico in a similar window four years ago (1.2). Italy-Jamaica had a 0.9 earlier in the day, down 18% from the similar window in 2015 (France-Colombia: 1.1).
[Numbers from Fox Sports, Sports Business Daily 6.17]
