U.S. – Slovenia: ESPN’s Most-Watched Soccer Telecast
Rating for 23 Games on ABC & ESPN up 60% vs. 2006
Digital Platforms Set Records
Friday morning’s United States vs. Slovenia FIFA World Cup match on ESPN – in which the Americans overcame a 2-0 halftime deficit to earn a 2-2 draw – is the most-watched soccer game among households in the history of ESPN networks – 3,906,000, based on a 3.9 fast national rating for the two-hour contest (10 a.m. ET – noon). It ranks third most-watched among viewers (P2+ – 5,200,000), behind the Germany/Italy semifinal (5,850,000) on July 4, 2006, and the US/Germany quarterfinal on June 21, 2002 (5,335,000).
Through Friday, June 18 and 23 games on ABC and ESPN, the 2010 World Cup is averaging a 1.9 U.S. rating (for the two-hour match window) — up 60% from 2006 (1.2). Household impressions are up 66% (from 1,336,000 to 2,333,000) and P2+ impressions are up 71% (from 1,720,000 to 2,950,000).
San Diego was the top market for yesterday’s Team USA game, delivering an 8.5 rating – all the more impressive considering the 7 a.m. local start time. Rounding out the top five were Washington, DC (6.4), Miami (6.2), West Palm Beach (5.9), and San Francisco (5.7). San Diego was also the top market for the USA/England game on ABC (11.5).
USA/Slovenia Sets Records for ESPN3.com and ESPNRadio.com
ESPN3.com – The U.S. vs. Slovenia was the most-viewed event ever on ESPN3.com with 798,911 unique viewers, including both live and on-demand viewing; 624,425 hours consumed; and an average time spent of 47 minutes.
Live and replay World Cup matches have been viewed on ESPN3.com by almost 3.4 million unique viewers from June 11-18, generating 342.7 million minutes of viewing (over an hour and a half per viewer).
ESPN.com – World Cup content (includes ESPN Soccernet and ESPNDeportes/cop-mundial) delivered 40.4 million visits and 137.9 million page views from June 11-18.
ESPNRadio.com – the US vs. Slovenia game is the most-listened to stream in the 10-year history of ESPNRadio.com, reaching close to 100,000 concurrent listeners in the final moments of the game (source: ando media).
ESPN Mobile — generated 1.8 million World Cup video views from June 11-18.
World Cup Schedule – Remainder of Opening Round
The third and final match for the U.S. in the Opening Round – Wednesday, June 23 vs. Algeria at 9:30 a.m. – will be aired on ESPN, ESPN HD, ESPN3.com and ESPN Radio. With a victory, the Americans would advance to the round of 16 and the start of the elimination tournament games.
Date | Time (ET) | Network | Match | Group | Site |
Sun 6/20 | 7 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Slovakia vs. Paraguay | F | Bloemfontein |
9:30 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Italy vs. New Zealand | F | Nelspruit | |
2 p.m. | ABC | Brazil vs. Ivory Coast | G | Johannesburg | |
Mon 6/21 | 7 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Portugal vs. Korea DPR | G | Cape Town |
9:30 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Chile vs. Switzerland | H | Port Elizabeth | |
2 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Spain vs. Honduras | H | Johannesburg | |
Tue 6/22 | 9:30 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Mexico vs. Uruguay | A | Rustenburg |
9:30 a.m. | ESPN2/ESPN360.com | France vs. South Africa | A | Bloemfontein | |
2 p.m. | ESPN2/ESPN360.com | Nigeria vs. Korea Republic | B | Durban | |
2 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Greece vs. Argentina | B | Polokwane | |
Wed 6/23 | 9:30 a.m. | ESPN2/ESPN360.com | Slovenia vs. England | C | Port Elizabeth |
9:30 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | USA vs. Algeria | C | Pretoria | |
2 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Ghana vs. Germany | D | Johannesburg | |
2 p.m. | ESPN2/ESPN360.com | Australia vs. Serbia | D | Nelspruit | |
Thu 6/24 | 9:30 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Slovakia vs. Italy | F | Johannesburg |
9:30 a.m. | ESPN2/ESPN360.com | Paraguay vs. New Zealand | F | Polokwane | |
2 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Denmark vs. Japan | E | Rustenburg | |
2 p.m. | ESPN2/ESPN360.com | Cameroon vs. Netherlands | E | Cape Town | |
Fri 6/25 | 9:30 a.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Portugal vs. Brazil | G | Durban |
9:30 a.m. | ESPN2/ESPN360.com | Ivory Coast vs. Korea DPR | G | Nelspruit | |
2 p.m. | ESPN/ESPN360.com | Chile vs. Spain | H | Pretoria | |
2 p.m. | ESPN2/ESPN360.com | Switzerland vs. Honduras | H | Bloemfontein |
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.
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