ESPN World Cup Ratings

From ESPN -

ESPN Grows Audience for FIFA Women’s World Cup
USA - Brazil: Third Most-Viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup Match Ever
U.S. Ratings for 28 Matches on ESPN Networks up 150% vs. 2007 in China

The FIFA Women’s World Cup quarterfinal match between the U.S. Women’s National Team and Brazil – a thrilling 2-2 tie, won by the USA in a penalty shootout in Dresden, Germany, on Sunday, July 10 – was seen by 3.89 million people according to the Nielsen Company, based on a 2.3 U.S. HH rating on ESPN (2.70 million household impressions), making it the third most-viewed Women’s World Cup match ever in the U.S.

Sunday’s quarterfinal also delivered ESPN’s largest audience for Women’s World Cup since 1999. The previous audience high was USA vs. Colombia in a Women’s World Cup 2011 group stage match in Sinsheim on Saturday, July 2, seen by 1.87 million people, based on a 1.2 U.S. HH rating (1.38 million household impressions).

Top-five most-viewed FIFA Women’s World Cup matches:

Date Match Network U.S. HH RTG / HH IMPS / P2+
Saturday, July 10, 1999 USA vs. China – Title Match ABC 11.4 / 11,307,000 / 17,975,000
Sunday, July 4, 1999 Brazil vs. USA – Semifinal ESPN 2.9 / 2,879,000 / 4,924,000
Sunday, July 10, 2011 Brazil vs. USA – Quarterfinal ESPN 2.3 / 2,704,000 / 3,890,000
Thursday, July 1, 1999 USA vs. Germany – Quarterfinal ESPN 1.7 / 1,667,000 / 2,627,000
Saturday, July 16, 1999 USA vs. Denmark – Group Stage ABC 1.7 / 1,717,000 / 2,457,000

Washington, D.C., was the top market for Sunday’s U.S. Women’s National Team match, delivering a 4.4 HH rating. Rounding out the top five were: San Diego (4.2), Baltimore (4.0), Cincinnati (3.8), and Albuquerque (3.8).

Through Sunday, July 10 (28 matches), the Women’s World Cup 2011 is averaging a 0.5 US rating on ESPN and ESPN2 – up 150% from 2007 (0.2) in China. Household impressions are up 148% (from 249,000 to 617,000) and P2+ impressions are up 200% (from 268,000 to 804,000).

Through 28 matches, the top five local markets for the 2011 FIFA Women’s World Cup are: Baltimore (1.1), Washington, D.C. (1.0), San Diego (1.0), Cincinnati (1.0) and Greensboro, N.C. (1.0).