US-Ghana World Cup Game Breaks TV Viewing Records

Monday night’s live World Cup broadcast of USA against Ghana broke TV records on both ESPN and Univision Deportes. The game was ESPN’s highest-rated men’s soccer match ever, which averaged a 6.3 US HH rating and 11 million viewers, while Univision’s broadcast of the game was viewed by an average of 4.8 million people. The game ranks as Univision’s most-viewed USA match in the history of the network.

How does that compare to the US-Ghana game from World Cup 2010, when the two teams last played — in the Knockout stages of the tournament? The game, which was shown on ABC, averaged 14.8 million viewers, which was nearly 2 million greater than 2010’s USA vs England game (also on ABC).

Tournament to date, the numbers on ESPN and Univision are greater than World Cup 2010. Seven highlights include:

1. Univision Deportes’ World Cup audience is 48% larger than World Cup 2010 through 14 matches,

2. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC ratings up 19% over 2010 to date,

3. The USA-Ghana game was ESPN’s highest-rated telecast since January 6 BCS National Championship,

4. Univision Deportes has reached 36.5 million total viewers for 2014 World Cup to date,

5. ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC have combined to average a 2.5 US HH rating and 4,112,000 viewers through the first 14 matches, marking increases of 19 percent and 23 percent, respectively, over the 2010 World Cup,

6. Last weekend was the most-viewed opening weekend in World Cup history for Univision Deportes, averaging 3.8million total viewers,

7. Argentina vs. Bosnia-Herzegovina was the most-viewed match on Univision on Sunday, across all networks regardless of language, delivering 4.9 million total viewers.

Both ESPN and Univision Deportes are broadcasting live matches to soccer fans in the United States. More details regarding both networks are as follows:

UNIVISION DEPORTES

Spanish-language Univision Deportes launched 24/7 coverage of the World Cup in June with the most coverage the United States has ever seen.

• Univision president discusses World Cup coverage plans,
• Univision Deportes announces talent lineup for World Cup 2014 coverage,
• Univision Deportes to kick off 24/7 coverage of World Cup 2014 on June 9.

ESPN

ESPN is bringing you all 64 games live on television and Internet.

• ESPN announces hosts for World Cup TV coverage,
• ESPN names 4 additional analysts for 2014 FIFA World Cup,
• ESPN hire Jon Champion and Daniel Mann as World Cup 2014 commentators,
• ESPN announces studio team for World Cup 2014 coverage featuring Van Nistelrooy and Gilberto.

SEE MORE — World Cup TV and Internet Schedule: Comprehensive Guide For All Games on ESPN, Univision and ESPN Deportes.