The numbers were not close to the United States matches earlier in the tournament, but ESPN set a record for Tuesday’s World Cup semifinal between Germany and Brazil.
The Germany/Brazil FIFA World Cup semifinal earned a 4.1 overnight rating on ESPN Tuesday afternoon, up 46% from Netherlands/Uruguay in 2010 (2.8) and the highest overnight ever for a World Cup semifinal on any ESPN network. Keep in mind no semifinal has ever aired on ABC.
Despite the record number, the 4.1 is not the highest of the tournament on ESPN/ABC. Obviously, the four USA matches did much better, ranging from a 6.3 overnight to a 9.6. Excluding those matches, three Round of 16 telecasts earned a 4.5 overnight — Brazil/Chile on ABC, Netherlands/Mexico on ESPN, and Costa Rica/Greece on ESPN. In addition, the Germany/Ghana pool play match on ESPN earned a 4.1, matching Tuesday’s semifinal.
New York led all markets with 7.5 for the ESPN telecast, followed by Hartford/New Haven (6.4), Washington, DC (5.8), the Bay Area (5.8) and Miami-Ft. Lauderdale (5.6). Overnights for the Univision telecast were unavailable, but the network’s telecast earned a 12.9 rating in Miami, a 9.4 in Los Angeles, a 6.5 in Houston, a 5.7 in New York, and a 4.0 in Dallas-Ft. Worth.
(Tue. numbers from ESPN/Univision)
