At long last we have the World Cup ratings for ABC’s matches on Saturday and Sunday. The 2:30 pm Sunday match between France and Honduras averaged over 4.3 million total viewers, making it the second highest-rated match of 2014 so far (and the highest-rated non-USA match). The other three matches on ABC over the weekend (also in bold in the table below) were in the 3.3 to 3.7 million viewer range, in the middle of the pack. Overall, the ABC matches together slightly lag the ESPN average so far, but of course remember the ESPN average includes a monstrous rating for a match featuring Team USA. And the two upcoming USA matches in the Group Stage round will be carried by ESPN, which will pad its lead.
Why this weird delay of almost a week for ABC ratings? It’s standard operating procedure for the television ratings measurement monopoly that is Nielsen. Although cable ratings for the entire day are released the next business day, broadcast network ratings come on a more staggered basis from Nielsen, on a schedule that has existed since the 1950s. Prime time ratings for broadcast shows are available the next day, but ratings for “fringe dayparts” (such as early morning, daytime, late night and weekend sports) arrive the following Thursday. No hurry. Just think of your local post office or DMV and you will have a good sense of the lack of urgency and innovation in TV audience measurement.
| World Cup 2014 — U.S. Television Ratings
(matches ranked by Total Viewers 2+ / recent data in bold) |
Total Viewers |
Demographic Ratings |
|
|
|
ET |
|
Match (winner listed first) |
Score |
Persons 2+ |
Adults
18-49 |
Men
18-49 |
Men
18-34 |
| 1. |
Mon |
Jun 16 |
5:30 pm |
ESPN |
USA vs Ghana |
2-1 |
9,722,000 |
4.12 |
5.56 |
5.74 |
| 2. |
Sun |
Jun 15 |
2:30 pm |
ABC |
France vs Honduras |
3-0 |
4,354,000 |
1.74 |
2.41 |
2.08 |
| 3. |
Sun |
Jun 15 |
5:30 pm |
ESPN |
Argentina vs Bosnia-Herz. |
2-1 |
4,204,000 |
1.88 |
2.63 |
2.65 |
| 4. |
Sat |
Jun 14 |
5:30 pm |
ESPN |
Italy vs England |
2-1 |
4,114,000 |
1.75 |
2.46 |
2.36 |
| 5. |
Thu |
Jun 12 |
4:00 pm |
ESPN |
Brazil vs Croatia |
3-1 |
4,040,000 |
1.72 |
2.43 |
2.76 |
| 6. |
Tue |
Jun 17 |
2:30 pm |
ESPN |
Brazil vs Mexico |
0-0 |
3,847,000 |
1.53 |
2.32 |
2.58 |
| 7. |
Sat |
Jun 14 |
2:30 pm |
ABC |
Costa Rica vs Uruguay |
3-1 |
3,675,000 |
1.52 |
2.19 |
2.13 |
| 8. |
Sun |
Jun 15 |
11:30 am |
ABC |
Switzerland vs Ecuador |
2-1 |
3,652,000 |
1.33 |
1.86 |
1.79 |
| 9. |
Sat |
Jun 14 |
8:30 pm |
ESPN |
Ivory Coast vs Japan |
2-1 |
3,445,000 |
1.44 |
2.06 |
1.77 |
| 10. |
Sat |
Jun 14 |
11:30 am |
ABC |
Colombia vs Greece |
3-0 |
3,288,000 |
1.33 |
1.83 |
1.76 |
| 11. |
Tue |
Jun 17 |
5:30 pm |
ESPN |
Russia vs South Korea |
1-1 |
3,259,000 |
1.38 |
2.02 |
2.05 |
| 12. |
Fri |
Jun 13 |
3:00 pm |
ESPN |
Netherlands vs Spain |
5-1 |
3,103,000 |
1.40 |
2.09 |
2.21 |
| 13. |
Fri |
Jun 13 |
5:30 pm |
ESPN2 |
Chile vs Australia |
1-0 |
2,526,000 |
1.26 |
1.90 |
1.76 |
| 14. |
Mon |
Jun 16 |
11:30 am |
ESPN |
Germany vs Portugal |
4-0 |
2,372,000 |
1.04 |
1.64 |
1.84 |
| 15. |
Mon |
Jun 16 |
2:30 pm |
ESPN |
Iran vs Nigeria |
0-0 |
2,250,000 |
0.92 |
1.46 |
1.59 |
| 16. |
Fri |
Jun 13 |
11:30 am |
ESPN2 |
Mexico vs Cameroon |
3-1 |
1,889,000 |
0.87 |
1.35 |
1.38 |
| 17. |
Tue |
Jun 17 |
11:30 am |
ESPN |
Belgium vs Algeria |
2-1 |
1,613,000 |
0.66 |
1.01 |
1.14 |
|
Network Averages to Date |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
June 12-17 |
ESPN |
ESPN Average to Date |
|
3,815,000 |
1.62 |
2.33 |
2.43 |
|
|
June 12-17 |
ABC |
ABC Average to Date |
|
3,742,000 |
1.48 |
2.07 |
1.94 |
|
|
June 12-17 |
ESPN2 |
ESPN2 Average to Date |
|
2,208,000 |
1.07 |
1.63 |
1.57 |
|
|
June 12-17 |
var |
ESPN/ABC/ESPN2 to Date |
|
3,609,000 |
1.52 |
2.19 |
2.21 |
| World Cup 2010 Comparisons |
| ESPN Averages |
|
var |
var. |
var. |
ESPN |
All Live 2010 Matches |
2,281,000 |
1.03 |
1.55 |
1.63 |
|
var |
var. |
var. |
ESPN |
2010 USA Matches |
5,038,000 |
2.19 |
3.14 |
3.34 |
|
var |
June 11-25 |
ESPN |
Group Stage Live Matches |
2,131,000 |
0.97 |
1.47 |
1.57 |
|
var |
June 26-July 7 |
ESPN |
Knockout Stage Live Matches |
2,792,000 |
1.21 |
1.79 |
1.85 |
Note: Next update later today (Thursday) around 1 pm PT with ratings for Wednesday’s matches on ESPN: Australia vs Netherlands at 11:30 am ET, Spain vs Chile at 2:30 pm ET and Cameroon vs Croatia at 5:30 pm ET.
Related Posts
-
WORLD CUP SKEDBALL — Days 3 & 4
World Cup 2014 built more momentum over the weekend on ESPN, with the 5:30 pm matches on Saturday and Sunday the highest-rated contests so far on ESPN this year. Further, even the lowest-rated ESPN match so far in 2014 is above the 2010 average for World Cup 2010. However, yesterday’s…
-
WORLD CUP SKEDBALL — Day 7
Day 7 of the World Cup (Wednesday) turned in mediocre ratings on ESPN by 2014 standards (2.3 to 3.2 million viewers for the three matches, on the bottom half of the ranking chart). But the 2:30 and 5:30 matches yesterday would still be above the 2010 ESPN average for Group…
-
WORLD CUP SKEDBALL — Day 6
Tuesday’s ESPN coverage of the World Cup featured two matches that had average ratings, and a third match (in the tough 11:30 am time period) that is the lowest-rated so far. (Yesterday’s match are bolded in the table below.) But 2014 is still pacing well ahead of 2010. ESPN matches to date in…
-
WORLD CUP SKEDBALL — Day 2
World Cup 2014 continued Friday with a well-rated match on ESPN Friday at 3 pm (Netherlands versus Spain), which averaged 3.1 million viewers of any age and a 2.09 rating with men 18-49, well above the ESPN average for Group Stage matches in 2010 (2.1 million total viewers and 1.47…
-
WORLD CUP SKEDBALL — Day 5
Wow. USA vs Ghana on ESPN Monday just missed averaging 10 million viewers over the course of the entire telecast. This is double what the USA matches did in 2010 from South Africa, and the demographic ratings (almost 6 ratings with young men) are excellent. The other two matches earlier…
