Primetime exposure on over-the-air television boosted the Women’s World Cup to a record audience Friday.
The United States/Sweden FIFA Women’s World Cup match earned a 2.4 final rating and 4.5 million viewers on FOX Friday night, up 137% in viewership from the second USA match in 2011, against Colombia on ESPN (1.9M). Keep in mind the 2011 match began at 11:45 AM ET.
Friday’s match scored the largest audience on record for the group stage of the Women’s World Cup, topping the previous high of 3.3 million for USA/Australia on Monday. Prior to this year, the top group stage audience was 2.5 million for USA/Denmark in 1999.
Overall, it ranks as the fourth-most watched Women’s World Cup match on record — trailing only the final matches in 1999 (18.0M) and 2011 (13.5M) and the 1999 USA/Brazil semifinal (4.9M). This year’s tournament already accounts for two of the top seven.
The match also set a record as the most-watched soccer telecast ever on the FOX family of networks. The previous high was a combined 4.2 million for the 2011 UEFA Champions League final on FOX and Fox Deportes.
(Fri. numbers from Fox Sports; additional info from TV Media Insights)
