USA World Cup Match Bigger than NBA Finals and World Series

[Toro]

The USA-Portugal match had a bigger TV audience than the World Series or the NBA finals.

With an audience of 25 million viewers for Sunday’s game between the United States and Portugal, the World Cup is moving into elite territory as a sports property on American television. Ratings for the game were the highest for any soccer game telecast in America and reached more viewers than events like the N.B.A. finals or the World Series.

Sunday’s game, which ended in a 2-2 tie after Portugal scored a late goal, attracted a total of 24.7 million viewers across two television networks, ESPN and Univision. The ESPN audience alone — 18.2 million viewers — set a record for a soccer game on American television. The previous record, for the 1999 Women’s World Cup final, which was won by the United States, was 17.9 million viewers. That game was on a broadcast network — ABC — rather than cable television. ...

While not near the totals scored by the N.F.L. playoffs or, certainly, the Super Bowl, the American audience for the World Cup game on Sunday easily eclipsed the N.B.A. finals this year, which averaged 15.5 million viewers, as well as the 2013 World Series, which averaged 14.9 million viewers. The N.H.L. playoffs are not even remotely as popular as the World Cup, having averaged only five million viewers this season.

Edit - linky

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/24/b...up-match-outdoes-world-series-in-ratings.html

 

[eflatminor]

European football bores the snot out of me...almost as much as American football.

Besides, soccer is some sort of commie plot, I'm just sure of it. Who else would be satisfied with a tie game???