World Cup Television Ratings Rocket In The United States
Disney will be happy with the ratings numbers World Cup games have attracted on ABC and ESPN so far, including 14.9 million on ABC for the United States versus Ghana on Saturday afternoon.
Univision, who have the Spanish-language rights, might be even happier, though, having invested even more in the World Cup: they had an additional 4.5 million tune in for the US-Ghana game, but more notably, 9.4 million for Mexico’s loss to Argentina on Sunday — the highest-ever television audience for any Spanish-language programming in the United States. On ABC, meanwhile, a further 6 million tuned in for Mexico-Argentina, giving us a total of 15.4 million viewers for that game on both networks: the Mexican national team continues to grow as a massively valuable television property in the United States.
It’s worth noting Univision paid $325m for their package, while ESPN/ABC paid $100m for the same rights. ESPN, incidentally, is also getting very strong ratings in Hispanic households, up 29% from the 2006 World Cup.
The demographics will delight the networks and bode well for the growth of soccer in the United States, with the 18-34 age group extremely well represented amongst the viewing audience. Reportedly, the median age for World Cup television viewers is 39, while for the Olympic Games, it’s 52.
The total number of viewers for the U.S.-Ghana game, combining ABC and Univision, was 19.4 million: breaking the previous record for a soccer game on television in the United States, the 18.1 million for the 1994 World Cup final, and also becoming the most-watched American national team game, beating the 18 million who tuned in to see the United States against China in the 1999 Women’s World Cup final.
All this, of course, has both ESPN and Univision salivating for the 2014 World Cup, for which both already have the television rights as part of their current deals (along with the 2011 Women’s World Cup in Germany), especially as the tournament will take place in a much friendlier timezone for the United States.
It’s interesting to note, though, that each time the World Cup has been held in the Americas in the modern television-era, kick-off times have been arranged to primarily suit European television, even at the expense of forcing players out in the afternoon heat: in Mexico at the 1986 tournament, all games began at either 12pm Central Standard Time or 4pm CST. The final was at noon in the central United States, early evening in Europe. The 1970 World Cup in Mexico followed exactly the same timing.
The 1994 World Cup in the United States saw most games kicking off in the late morning or afternoon in Central Standard Time, with a few taking place later. The final kicked off at 2.30pm CST. The 1978 World Cup in Argentina was a little more friendly to local time, but still saw an afternoon kickoff.
It will be very interesting to see what times games take place at during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, though regardless, they are guaranteed to be more favourable for television viewing in America, with Rio de Janeiro only one hour ahead of New York City. And if Mexico ends up playing the United States in primetime at the World Cup — well, we’ll no longer have to have the interminable debate about whether soccer is popular in this country or not.
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Wow, what pathetic ratings. Especially compared to any primetime NFL game. And try getting these ratings in the absence of the World Cup. You’d be lucky to get 10 people to watch a MLS game. Oh, and all those people watching on TV? How much you want to bet they were 99% immigrants from Latin America? In other words, AMERICANS weren’t watching. Meaning soccer is only a popular sport amongst a demographic it was already popular with. Which means zero for the growth of the sport in the U.S., because with time and assimilation, we’ll take those immigrants and pull them into the comfortable confines of real sports in the U.S. – football, baseball, basketball, and hockey. Leaving soccer, once again, where it belongs – in the gutter. Yes, soccer blows, soccer is boring, soccer is just 90 minutes of pure awful.
And all of you fans of it are complete retards for liking such a WOMANLY sport.
If your man enough I will play a game of futol and show you how manly it is. Of course it does not compare to throwball, we don’t hold each other tight just so a runner can run past you. might as well hold hands. FU Throwball, Futbol rules. Americans from hispanic heritage are just as much americans as italian americans, afican americans or german americans. So we all count. Just look at our president….Check out Youtube and see all the non- hispanic americans and you will cry a river… go back to redneck town please.
jajaja soccer as you calle it is the best sport the most exciting well all sports have a magic but soccer , for me futbol, is like a life is laugh is tears around my eyes i enjoy that sport i have it on my blood on my heart there is not word to express how much i like soccer i grown up playin’ it watchin’ it i will never be bored watching soccer or basket or baseball but soccer is so much special than all those sports
What universe is “Soccersucks” living in?? No primetime NFL game attracts anthing close to the viewers who’ve been watching the world cup. As of demographics – I tried to find a sports bar in Boston to watch the game. Each was more packed than the next. Average age – college and above. Mostly white. And most surprisingly – they actually understood the game – a big difference from even 4 years ago.
You’re right about MLS games. They will always struggle against the other 4 major sports, and the competition for TV time. But soccer has definitely arrive in the USA.
Average NFL viewrship rating, per game, is 17.2 million………….
From the amount of vitriol soccersucks expressed, it seems clear he somehow feels threatened by the fact that something he does not understand (and consequently like) is growing so much.
Otherwise why would he have bothered to write 125+ words on the topic? As for manliness – he wouldn’t last 10minutes of running in any adults’ soccer game; people who haven’t ever played the game just don’t have the lungs for it. And if he is an average American from a state other than Colorado he is likely overweight.. I would readily place a bet on him. 