Up 75% in Households and 80% in Viewers Through Eight Matches on ESPN/ABC

To tweet this release:  http://bit.ly/9i0byo

ESPN is off to a strong start through the opening weekend of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, highlighted by the United States-England match on ABC which was the most-watched FIFA World Cup first-round match among households and viewers, and the most-viewed United States Men’s National Team game since 1994. (For the complete release from Sunday highlighting the U.S.-England match, click here.)

Through eight matches, ESPN and ABC are averaging 3,000,000 households and 4,247,000 viewers – up 75% and 80%, respectively, versus the first eight games of the 2006 World Cup (1,718,000 households and 2,363,000 viewers in ’06).

The most-watched game from Sunday was ABC’s Germany-Australia matchup – a 2.8 household rating, 3,270,000 households, and 4,657,000 viewers, while Serbia-Ghana delivered a 2.3 household coverage rating, 2,248,000 households, and 3,002,000 viewers earlier in the day on ESPN, both based on fast nationals.

Note: Ratings and viewership numbers are based on the specific-two hour match windows, not including pre-match studio coverage.

 

ESPN Digital: Nearly 1.3 million viewers have viewed World Cup matches on ESPN3.com

Nearly 1.3 million viewers have viewed live and replay World Cup matches on ESPN3.com over the first three days of the tournament, generating 73.6 million minutes of viewing (almost an hour per viewer). The number of minutes viewed in the opening three days is almost as many as ESPN3.com had for the entire month of June 2009.

 

World Cup content on ESPN.com – including ESPN Soccernet.com and ESPN Deportes.com – delivered 13.2 million visits and 47.4 million page views over the first three days of the tournament (Fri.–Sun.), while users have spent an average of 10 minutes per visit engaging with World Cup content. ESPN.com’s front page, which prominently featured World Cup news, video and scores, saw 27.7 million visits and 60.9 million page views (Fri.–Sun.). Almost 1.3 million video views came from World Cup highlights, news and analysis content on ESPN.com. ESPN’s mobile offerings (ESPN Mobile Web, ESPN 2010 FIFA World Cup App, ESPN ScoreCenter App) generated 11.7 million visits and 70.3 million page views to World Cup content over the first three days of the event. Mobile platforms also generated 761,000 video views in those days. 

 

ESPN/ABC World Cup Ratings* (thru 8 matches):

Fri., June 11:

• South Africa-Mexico (ESPN, 10 a.m.) — 2.2 household coverage rating, 2.151 million HHs, 2.856 million viewers
• Uruguay-France (ESPN, 2:30 p.m.) — 2.1 rating, 2.056 HHs, 2.950 viewers

Sat., June 12:

• South Korea-Greece (ESPN, 7:30 a.m.) — 1.6 rating, 1.590 HHs, 1.997 viewers
• Argentina-Nigeria (ESPN, 9:21 a.m.) — 2.8 rating, 2.820 HHs, 3.725 viewers
• U.S.-England (ABC, 2:30 p.m.) — 7.3 (U.S.) rating, 8.391 HHs, 12.956 viewers

Sun., June 13:

• Algeria-Slovenia (ESPN, 7:30 a.m.) — 1.3 rating, 1.303 HHs, 1.569 viewers
• Serbia-Ghana (ESPN, 10 a.m.) — 2.3 rating, 2.248 HHs, 3.002 viewers
• Germany-Australia (ABC, 2:30 p.m.) — 2.8 (U.S.) rating, 3.270 HHs, 4.657 viewers

 

* Ratings reflect two-hour match windows only

ESPN Inc.’s 2010 FIFA World Cup Coverage in the United States

South Africa 2010 is ESPN’s seventh 2010 FIFA World Cup and coverage of the event is the most comprehensive in company history. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC will air all 64 matches live and in high definition. ESPN3.com, ESPN’s signature broadband network available in more than 50 million homes, will feature live English-language simulcasts of matches on ESPN and ESPN2. ESPN 3D will feature 25 matches.  ESPN Mobile TV will show all matches. ESPN Deportes, the Spanish-language all sports network, will air more than 50 matches in Portuguese live in the U.S., and ESPN Radio will broadcast all 64 matches. Additionally, ESPN will present television studio programming from site in South Africa, offering U.S. sports fans the most comprehensive news and information coverage throughout the month-long soccer showcase.

 

ESPN Executive Vice President John Skipper, who is in South Africa for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, participated in a media conference call this afternoon to discuss the opening weekend of the tournament.  To hear a full replay of the call, click here.

 

— 30 —