USA vs. Panama: ESPN’s Second Highest Audience for FIFA World Cup Qualifying Match
Last night’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying contest between the United States and Panama delivered ESPN’s second most-watched and second highest-rated FIFA World Cup qualifying or international friendly match telecast. The match, a 2-0 win by the U.S. Men’s National Team at the CenturyLink Field in Seattle, Wash., was seen by an average 1.436 million viewers, 888,000 households based on a 0.8 U.S. household rating, according to Nielsen Media.
The viewers for USA-Panama trails only Mexico vs. USA on March 26, 2013, a telecast that delivered the record average audience with 2.385 million viewers and 1.644 million households, based on a 1.4 household U.S. rating on ESPN.
Five Most-Viewed World Cup Qualifying or International Friendly Matches on ESPN:
| Date | Match | Network | HH Rating | P2+ (Viewers) |
| Tue, March 26, 2013 | Mexico vs. USA (WCQ) | ESPN | 1.4 | 2,385,000 |
| Tue, June 12, 2013 | USA vs. Panama (WCQ) | ESPN | 0.8 | 1,436,000 |
| Wed, Feb 11, 2009 | USA vs. Mexico (WCQ) | ESPN2 | 0.7 | 1,191,000 |
| Wed, May 30, 2012 | USA vs. Brazil (Friendly) | ESPN2 | 0.6 | 1,128,000 |
| Wed, Feb 7, 2007 | USA vs. Mexico (Friendly) | ESPN2 | 0.6 | 1,091,000 |
San Diego was the top market for the match telecast, delivering a 2.5 rating. Rounding out the top five were: Seattle-Takoma, Wash. (2.5), Baltimore (2.1), Hartford-New Haven, Conn., (1.9), and Nashville (1.9).
USA vs. Honduras – Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. ET on ESPN
ESPN’s coverage of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s campaign to qualify for the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil will continue on Tuesday, June 18, with USA vs. Honduras, live from Rio Tinto Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah, on ESPN and WatchESPN.
The US Men’s National Team sits atop the standings in the Hexagonal (final) round of the qualifying series for the Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football (CONCACAF). There are six teams competing in this round and the top three earn automatic berths to Brazil 2014. The fourth team plays a two-legged playoff vs. New Zealand, representing the Oceania Football Confederation.
Ian Darke and Taylor Twellman will call the match. Bob Ley, Alexi Lalas and Kasey Keller will provide studio commentary.
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