USA vs Portugal Was the Highest Rated World Cup Match Ever On ESPN
Forbes – The game may have wound up a draw in the final seconds, but for ESPN , Sunday’s FIFA World Cup match between Team TISI 0% USA and Portugal was ratings hit, averaging 18,220,000 viewers based on a 9.6 HH US rating. It surpassed the previous high of 17,975,000 viewers for the 1999 Women’s World Cup final (USA vs. China) on ABC. Additional television highlights:for a World Cup match on ESPN or ESPN2. The telecast peaked from 7:30 to 8 p.m. ET with an average of 22,961,000 viewers and an 11.9 household US rating. The match, which had the US up 2-1 with under 30 seconds left in stoppage-time, saw Cristiano Ronaldo break free on the right and sent a cross pass to Silvestre Varela who put the ball in the goal, thus resulting in a 2-2 draw. The game held US audiences captive till the end besting the then highest-rated 7.0 rating for the US’s initial World Cup match against Ghana. According to Nielsen, the the broadcast also ranks as the third-highest Men’s World Cup match of any round on any ESPN network – tied for ABC’s USA vs. Ghana round of 16 match in 2010; and behind ABC’s presentations of the 1994 World Cup Final featuring Brazil vs. Italy (12.8 overnight rating), and the 1994 USA-Brazil round of 16 match (10.4 rating). How did the match rate compared to other programming for ESPN? According to The Worldwide Leader In Sports, the match is ESPN’s most-viewed program excluding NFL and college football telecasts. The following are overnight ratings for the top 10 metered markets: Washington, DC (13.3), Columbus, Ohio (12.6), New York (12.5), Boston (11.5), Hartford & New Haven (11.3), Providence (11.2), Atlanta (11.1), Baltimore (11.0), Norfolk (10.5), and Orlando (10.5). To date, the highest-rated markets on the ESPN Networks are: Washington DC (5.0), New York (4.3), San Francisco (4.1), Orlando (3.8), and Los Angeles (3.7).
Soccer fever!!! Will soccer finally become a mainstream sport, amiright?! Absolutely not. We will watch it and pour beers all over each other and wile the fuck out for the USA every 4 years, but no, soccer isn’t becoming mainstream anymore than weird bands that wear fedoras. They’ll have one cool song where you whistle the hook, then go back into the shadows where they belong. However, if you aren’t getting fucking jacked for Thursday already, you’re a child. You should already be planning what illness you’re going to have, what grandparent died, or what dog got ran over to get out of work on Thursday. The game is at noon, and you’re a crouton if you’re slaving to the man instead of drinking $2 beers and 1,000 tots. Tie and advance!
PS: I’m not saying I’m 100% to be thanked for DC being the highest rated market, but I am saying I’m 95% to thank for DC being the highest rated market.